Photographers who entered this year's Student Focus Award, part of the Sony World Photography Awards, were given this brief: "Millennial: 53% of millennials would rather lose their sense of smell than their technology."

Broadly speaking, a "millennial" is someone who has come of age in the 21st century, a time of great technological development.

The photographers in the Student Focus Award explored different aspects of this theme, with many of the entries including personal experience. The overall winner was Sofia Jern for her work about children addicted to glue-sniffing on the streets of Kitale, Kenya.

These are some of the best entries from the first round of the competition, starting with the 10 finalists.

"Irezumi (Insertion of Ink)", by Joshua Thomas, from Australia

"Local tattoo store Conspiracy Ink, located in Wagga Wagga, held its second 'Flash Day' event, in which a selection of pre-made designs were sold and tattooed that day to the public. Among the public was Zacariah Duggan [above], who received his very first tattoo and was the first client to be tattooed that day by artist Michael Forrest." – Joshua Thomas

Joshua Thomas / Student Focus Award / 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

"Injured", by Lei Cheong, from Thailand

"Millennials when injured are cured by medical and/or artificial technology." – Lei Cheong

Lei Cheong / Student Focus Award / 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

"Grettel and the Future", by Daisy Reza, from Mexico

"The construction of identity remains the main future challenge for young people from the millennial generation, in the midst of an ever insufficient education system." – Daisy Reza

Daisy Reza / Student Focus Award / 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

"Castle Hill (Kura Tawhiti)", by Matilda Fraser, from New Zealand

"The impulse to record one's presence in a place becomes more pressing than looking into it. View from the car of Castle Hill (Kura Tawhiti), Canterbury High Country, New Zealand." – Matilda Fraser

Matilda Fraser / Student Focus Award / 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

"Snow White", by Sofia Jern, from Finland

"A dress that we utilise once can turn a little girl into a princess for life. I was in Kenya when this little girl came into Sunday church with her beautiful Snow White dress. These clothes that we throw away get shipped into Africa and are sold for cents." – Sofia Jern

Sofia Jern / Student Focus Award / 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

"Kapparot", by Felipe Romero Beltrán, from Argentina

"A young ultra-Orthodox Jewish man trying to talk on the phone during Kapparot in Jerusalem, an ancient religious festivity crossed by the weight of time. From the old Jewish ritual to the technology of our days." – Felipe Romero Beltrán

Felipe Romero Beltrán / Student Focus Award / 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

"Selfie Stick", by Julie Hrncirova, from France

"Nowadays, we don't look around ourselves enough, not even at each other. We are almost unable to have a conversation without looking at our smartphones and laptops. We are absorbed by this virtual world, which makes us more isolated. Because of that, we are progressively moving away from the reality; but also from our roots and from nature more than ever." – Julie Hrncirova

Julie Hrncirova / Student Focus Award / 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

"Mom's Closet", by Yui Takahashi, from Japan

"My mom passed away four years ago. This is a self-portrait taken in front of her closet wearing her clothing. Cloth characterises someone's personality. And a closet is a box to keep the clothes in. Japan has a culture of wearing kimonos, which are a type of sustainable clothing. They are made with the intention of being passed down through generations, and are even constructed with extra fabric inside to mend them when they get damaged. As Japan made the transition to wearing more Western clothing, the tradition of handing down clothes to future generations became less prevalent." – Yui Takahashi

Yui Takahashi / Student Focus Award / 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

"Portraits of South African Born Frees", by Rochell De Abreu, from South Africa

"Born Frees are those born from the year 1994 onward, the year of the first democratic elections. The Born Frees have no direct ties to colonialism and apartheid – they only live with the ripple effects of it. They are moving rapidly away from the way in which their parents were represented." – Rochell De Abreu

Rochell De Abreu / Student Focus Award / 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

"Shepherds", by Adam Zadlo, from Poland

"Raised on The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. Longing for a fairy tale. The generation with technology in their hands." – Adam Zadlo

Adam Zadlo / Student Focus Award / 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

"Fructus Temporum (The Fetus of Time)", by Anastasia Safronova, from Russia

"Recently, I met a boy in a church. He stared at a digital tablet. Maybe he read a prayer. Maybe he was in the social networks. Maybe... However the light emitted from the digital tablet gives me a hope for the best." – Anastasia Safronova

Anastasia Safronova / Student Focus Award / 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

"Roosa and Roope", by Anna Tervahartiala, from Finland

"Roosa and Roope have been friends for years. They have seen mobile phones change from unattainable gadgets to accessories, which can be compared to vital organs. Even though technology has changed the way people interact and are among each other, it has not changed what it feels like to lean towards a friend and feel the warmth of the human body. Soon after the picture was taken, Roope left for India. Even though he was no longer present, his presence could be felt through the pictures and messages he shared along the way." – Anna Tervahartiala

Anna Tervahartiala / Student Focus Award / 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

"Millennial Me", by Arina Pozdnyak, from Russia

"When I got the task of making a picture of 'Me Generation', the only thing I could do was to take a selfie. This genre represents us in the best way, because we are known to be self-centred, looking for glory, and always stuck hanging out in the network." – Arina Pozdnyak

Arina Pozdnyak / Student Focus Award / 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

"Borderlines", by Cristian Jurji, from the UK

"For ages, each generation has confronted itself with the notion of virtual reality. Long before the computer defined our current concept of this notion, people regarded other mediums as virtual, such as paintings, dioramas, the telephone, and television, each of them leaving a significant stain on the human mind and perception. Subsequently, millennials associate CGI as an example of contemporary virtuality or ‘truth-likeness’. As such, my photograph aims to replicate computer-generated 3D models, despite being in fact a real photograph of a physical wire mesh (in a real, physical room), shaped by hand and composed with controlled lighting and without digital manipulation whatsoever, in an attempt to force the viewer into associating it with CGI." – Cristian Jurji

Cristian Jurji / Student Focus Award / 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

"Distorted Universe", by Dan Saracut, from Romania

"The passage into the new millennium can often impose a problem to the creation of art. Thus, the ideal side of a visual content tends to be replaced by the aesthetics, removing background. The artist is put into the edge of the universe in the form of a distorted simple human in a world of lost because of the inspirational impasse." – Dan Saracut

Dan Saracut / Student Focus Award / 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

"Unity in Paris", by Danny Cozens, from the UK

Photo taken in Paris on 15 November 2015. "After the tragedies in Paris, I focused on creating a series based on young Parisians coming together in defiance of the recent [terrorist] attack." – Danny Cozens

Danny Cozens / Student Focus Award / 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

"Who Am I?", by Francu Catalina, from Romania

"The world today seems to be one of puzzle parts: Some can be real, some might be only in our imagination. Virtual and real worlds collide today. Finding the truth of self can be the adventure of our time." – Francu Catalina

Francu Catalina / Student Focus Award / 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

"Social Media", by Hattie Collins, from the UK

"Many claim that millennials have a forever expanding circle of friends and contacts. What is less heard is how lonely this world can be when these people exist behind a screen." – Hattie Collins

Hattie Collins / Student Focus Award / 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

"If a Cloned Human Were Produced", by Hirai Mana, from Japan

"In this work, I portrayed myself recognising each pixel as the cell, selected and dissociated from the photo under certain rules. I then duplicated separately and reassociated every dissociated pixel. Thus the clone was made (duplicated)." – Hirai Mana

Hirai Mana / Student Focus Award / 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

"Millennials", by Igor Ilic, from Croatia

"Millennials is the term for a roughly defined demographic of people born between 1980 and 2000. This generation, often proclaimed to be the next
‘important generation’, prefers to be called ‘the millennial generation’. They have been described as lazy, spoiled, materialistic, and unemployed. They are reflection of the generation before them, but do they have a right to be cynical towards both the system and the aforementioned characterization?" – Igor Ilic

Igor Ilic / Student Focus Award / 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

"Here Is Always Somewhere Else", by Jasmine Farling, from the UK

"Landscape with youth reflected in tablet (iPad)." – Jasmine Farling

Jasmine Farling / Student Focus Award / 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

"Park Dreaming", by Kenneth Koustrup, from Denmark

"Victoria Park, Athens, September 2015. Many unaccompanied minor refugees stay together in groups to protect and take care of each other on their hopeful journey to the prosperous West. Victoria Park is a big café area in Athens that has become a stopover for many young refugees. Besides the group, their smartphones are one of the most important things because it’s the link to their families back home and a pathfinder for their destinations." – Kenneth Koustrup

Kenneth Koustrup / Student Focus Award / 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

"Prisoner of My Own", by Luka Svetic, from Slovenia

"In this day and age we are never truly alone, or are we? Technology enables us to talk, connect, buy, see places we've never been at, and share our thoughts with a single touch of a button. It seems like we're connected 24/7, and yet sometimes it feels like no other generation was as disconnected as we are." – Luka Svetic

Luka Svetic / Student Focus Award / 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

"Reticence", by Mara Gajic, from Canada

"Woman seated (surrounded by soil) with a rose bush and watering can." – Mara Gajic

Mara Gajic / Student Focus Award / 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

"What Is Beauty", by Nolita Sinayhakh, from South Africa

Nolita Sinayhakh / Student Focus Award / 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

"I Can't Get Enough", by Qiong Yao, from China

"I am a 'millennial' myself. In China this not only means that I grew up with all the technology that surrounds us, but it also means that I belong to the first generation that grew up with all the material pleasures available, like they have been available in the Western world for so long. This photo is from a series I completed in October 2015 about how I and my generation deal with the temptations that surround us: food, drinks, beauty care, computer games, and social media. While indulging in these pleasures, the Shiva-like multiple arms forebode an uneasy change in our paths; but until that happens...: 'I can't get enough'."

Qiong Yao / Student Focus Award / 2016 Sony World Photography Awards