Personal Statement
from Dylan Kai Dempsey
Building on a post-college decade as film critic and filmmaker, I am now writer/director/producer/editor of my most personal creation yet—#Likes4Lucas. The story of fictional YouTuber Lucas Skyler, #L4L is a Trojan Horse “traumedy,” a relatable narrative with a specific goal: to reach a wide audience, to help at-risk youth…and to raise awareness about digital addiction.
The statistics are sobering. A study released in June 2025 by the Journal of the American Medical Association finds that obsessive digital habits—excessive use of smartphones, misguided attention to online content, lowered self-esteem—are increasing among children. The same study finds that from age 14 on, these factors triple their likelihood of self-harm or suicidal behavior.
I wish I’d had #Likes4Lucas back when I was a kid.
This project is born of my own struggles: an insect sting at age 12 that took down my immune system; 18 months of healing while my classmates moved on; screens as replacement for the world I had lost. Yes, I was blessed with a nature-filled, pre-smartphone childhood—but the sudden onset of loneliness, social media and online avatars warped my teenage perceptions, both internal and external. I battled depression—and much like my protagonist, Lucas, I made YouTube videos: none that still exist (or that I’d want to share). I was simply so desperate to please my peers, to feel accepted, to get ‘likes,’ that I resorted to shock-value humor, mean-spirited jokes, brain-rot… I traded my identity for a digital ecosystem. I had no clue that I was just one more subscriber to our media-driven “attention economy.”
Happily, I’ve moved on. As my health recovered and my education continued, storytelling has saved me. I’ve turned my fascination with media—the creative thrill that comes from connecting image and sound with emotions—into a far more genuine form of personal growth and fulfilment, a way to connect with an audience and to reach others in need.
Why am I optimistic? I know that self-doubt is contagious, that self-examination requires courage, that reinvention is hard to achieve—but I also know that peer-to-peer storytelling can inspire change from within. By exploring a world that teens revere, by framing characters in the fast-moving, emoji-filled style they admire, by depicting battles they experience in their own lives, I hope to create entertainment that ignites discussion across generations.
I also know that the psycho-social phenomena caused by digital addiction—the desperate need for approval, the incessant self-doubt—are the same mental health issues that have plagued us since Neanderthal times. Whether in the wilds or on the playground, modifying behavior to gain social approval has long been a means of survival. It’s an evolutionary technique, hardwired into biology. Influencers are simply the latest and most extreme example: extreme because digital algorithms are increasingly powerful, extreme because our “real world” identities are increasingly threatened.
The danger is real, but solutions exist. Increased understanding, individual and collective, will surely help.
This is why #Likes4Lucas matters—and thus far, funders agree. With the support of individual donors plus an Individual Artist grant from the New York State Council on the Arts, our pilot is now 60% funded, 100% shot and officially in post-production. Mental health advisors and impact plans are already in place. Our 2026 festival run will include premieres as both a 22-minute pilot and a standalone short film—followed by presentations at mental health organizations and educational institutions.
In the meantime, editing has begun and fundraising continues.