Look Up 2 - Ten Years Later

A decade after 'Look Up' went viral, the digital world has changed - but the message is more important than ever. With 'Look Up 2', I revisit how smartphones and social media are consuming our lives and what we’re losing in return.
This spoken word film is a reminder to take control of our time, reconnect with the real world, and use technology with purpose.

Written, Directed & Performed by Gary Turk

Original Music Composed by Daniel C. Cobb
VFX by David Fricker
Graphic Design by Stephen Nutley & Raye Pritchett-Page

Special thanks:
Liam, Abi, Gabriella, Paola, Thys, Jimmy, Fabien, Chloe, Bonnie, Dan, Dave, Alex, Mia, Joy, Stu, Louise, Mum & Dad.

Copyright © 2024 Gary Turk
All Rights Reserved

[GaryTurk]

Here are the words:

I made a video 10 years ago, and it gained millions of views,
It went viral on the internet, and was featured on the news.
It warned how social media and smartphones are pulling us apart,
But we’re looking down more than ever now, and I don’t know where to start.

I’m aware that posting this online, may make me look like a hypocrite,
But if everyone’s on their phones, there’s no better way to deliver it.
We used to go on the internet, to make our real lives easier,
But now we’re online more than offline, and our lives have never felt busier.

Since I made the first video, so many new updates have arrived,
There was no TikTok, no Reels, the newest iPhone was the 5.
How much of our lives are now lost to mindlessly scrolling?
How much of our time are we now actually controlling?

The average person will spend 34 years staring at a screen,
That’s time you won’t get back, time that could have been… special.
It takes just ten thousand hours to master new things,
But we trade our dreams for memes, as we surrender to pings.

It’s become an obsession, and we show no signs of stopping,
We rely on our smartphones for work, play and shopping.
We even upload our love lives, relying on apps for dating,
It’s like our lives have been downgraded, while our phones keep updating.

We’re all watching the world through a window that we hold in our hands,
We turn the camera on ourselves and our lives into brands.
Our profiles tell lies about what we’re going through,
As we prioritize selfies over sharing what’s true.

We document our whole lives online, posting everywhere we go,
We’re a generation of show offs, with little to show.
We know it’s all fake yet still hate how it feels,
As we struggle to live up to our own highlight reels.

We turn our friends into audiences, and our lives become a performance,
Where sharing and comparing become of utmost importance.
There’s a necessity to record things, or else it’s like it never happened,
Trading memories for attention, now filtered and captioned.

We’ve been conditioned to be this way, this is all by design,
A handful of tech companies, making money from our minds.
Social media is not free when it’s our data they take,
The more of your life they can harvest, the more money they make.

So they hook us all in, and make us addicted to screens,
Using tricks and techniques inspired by slot machines.
A small group of billionaires, influencing billions of people,
Controlling how we act, think & live. How is this legal?

Anxiety, depression and self-harm are all on the rise,
At a time we look at our phones more than in people’s eyes.
It’s no surprise we feel poisoned when we are all equipped,
With devices that light our brains the same as a drug addict.

Yet we give screens to our kids, and watch them withdraw at speed,
Missing out on skills and experiences that they need to succeed.
Experts plead with schools and parents to take smartphones away,
So that children raised by algorithms, don’t forget how to play.
Don’t scroll instead of sleep and become zombies by day.

But it is possible to live in the real world, and still thrive in the digital,
Nobody is saying we should get rid of it all.
We are the lucky generation, who have this technology to hold,
So let’s choose a life well-lived, and refuse a life well-scrolled.
Let’s live our lives out loud, and use these tools to serve a purpose,
We can choose how we use them, and refuse to let them hurt us.

Rather than turn us into consumers, we can use this tech for more,
To learn languages, to build companies, to highlight hunger and war.
In the right set of hands, our phones can build a better reality,
Instead of turning us into robots, they can improve upon humanity.

Like the difference this one person made, to every person on the planet,
Because they used their phone for good, rather than just out of habit.

But none of these things ever happened, and will never have any of this,
If we’re all too busy looking down, that we…

There is a right time and a wrong time to be staring at a screen,
Like a how text that could wait, can lead to a life unseen,
A life filled with dreams that will never be known
A life filled with memories that will never be grown, ,
A life like this one, a life like your own.
Our lives are worth more than anything on a phone.

Look up from your phone, or use it the right way,
It’s not just your life you may be wasting today.

[RayeVeronica]

“Let’s choose a life well-lived and refuse a life well-scrolled” 🙏

[Galactum]

Nah that double plot twist at the ending was crazy. This is incredibly powerful. It might even be more so than Look Up 1

[GaryTurk]

I can't wait for you all to see 'Look Up 2' and hear what you think, especially the ending!! 😅

[implacableduck]

This video deserves way more than the first video, I don't think a lot of people got to see or understand the first one because things just got worse over time. I remember showing my Dad the firet video back when I was in middle school, and I specifically remember playing the video back on repeat because I felt so trapped as a kid following up after highschool, luckily now I managed to take a grasp on my life and made friends, going to social events, finding new hobbies, etc. I really hope this gets just as much attention as the first one!

[lektorsteffen]

As an ESL teacher, I've been using Look Up for almost a decade now. This update is godsent. Thank you very much.

[sagarmodh]

I have watched the earlier look up like hundreds of times and gonna watch this one too! Great job!

[alwhatever]

That ending was brutal. Honestly brutal. Thank you. 10 years later and still watching the first one…

[SonjaKirchvogel]

Wow, I loved Look up 1 and I am even more touched by Look up 2. I work as an advocate for digital mindfulness, yet this made me cry because it is so disturbingly true. It would be so worthwhile showing this in schools, to parents, politicians...everyone should see this! Thanks so much for your work @Gary Turk.

[sibertiger]

You sir are the greatest mind fully open poet that sees the world as it truly is, and how it should be. Both the Look Up videos hit me like a freight train, and I watch them every couple months when I need a reset and a swift kick in the ass to live better. I can't thank you enough.

[th]

Everyone should watch Look Up and Look Up 2. Thank you Gary.

[rick]

Even though it has been ten years since the original Look Up was released, the message is still relevant today. This update does bring the reality of cell phones in today world into focus as to how their use can effect others in life shattering ways. The ending is not easily forgotten, nor should it be. Cell phones are a tool with many benefits, but poorly used can have a devastating impact on others.

[JoyMarchese]

Gary this is so powerful! Your message has to be seen by all young people using smart phones and all parents wondering if they should give their children a phone. Thank you for sharing your message and doing it in such a relatable way.

[Syrootz]

Thank you. You inspired my mind 10 years ago. Now here I am 10 years later.

[Quixzable]

I remember watching the first one as a teen, and ever since I was really careful with social Media and my usage of it, until I just quit using them entirely. Whenever I see people outside staring in groups at their phone I end up thinking about the first one. Sadly enough we listen and know the correct way, but the habit and accesability always throws people back.

[youssefb]

As a professor, I've taught "Look Up" for years, as it fit the theme of my digital literacy class. I am happy to include pt II this semester--thank you @GaryTurk

[ShahrukhAhmadMJ]

Gary you won't believe I've been showing your first video to my friends recently again, due to increase sreen time lifestyle of today's world.. WOW

[jonathanmonson]

I absolutely loved part 1 when it came out. I’ve showed it to our youth at our church hoping to convince them to “look up.” Now I have another one to show them but I think this will be more shocking and might get their attention. Thank you for your time in making these videos.

[MerlinTheMaidenless]

Thank you for makings a part 2. I keep listening to the first one constantly

[bradster]

This as arguable more powerful than the first... I still remember when your first one went viral. The car bit shook me completely. Well done for this video. It needs more views!