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For teens about turning off technology before bed to get enough sleep.

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Technology: 5 Ways To Reboot Yourself (for Teens)

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Sending and receiving messages late at night can disrupt your sleep and leave you tired and unfocused when it’s time for school.

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Pros and Cons about technology use for teens.

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Technology today is reaching a critical mass stage where new products and ways of sharing are found and implemented at lightning speeds. There was a time when telling your child that they were not allowed to watch TV or have friends over was a huge punishment. In this modern age, there is a whole bucket list of things that are necessary to control. Television, iPods, smartphones, video games, Internet...the list is staggering.

Our children can reach out to others in more ways than you can think possible. As a parent, the number one issue surrounding all this is trying to understand the impact of technology on physical and mental health. Open any newspaper or magazine and you will find articles that both praise modern technology and also condemn it. This article will try and present some of the more recent research and opinion on the impact of technology on our teens.

PRO: Technology opens the entire world to your children/teens. There is almost no question that he or she cannot find an answer to on the Internet. Certainly, there is no harm in gaining knowledge. After all, the more knowledge one possesses our "learning" drive increases.

CON: Studies show that using media devices at any time during the day stimulates cortisol, the "stress" hormone, and limits the production of melatonin, the "sleep" hormone. Experts recommend that no one is actively engaged with technology within two hours of bedtime.

PRO/CON: A 2013 study found that viewing one's own Facebook profile may boost self-esteem. Another study found that large amounts of time spent on social media lowers girls' self-esteem and body image. Collectively, most researchers reiterate that the way teens and kids use technology and social media can affect self-esteem - positively or negatively. "Liking" a content page that holds similar views to your own does have the impact of increasing self-esteem as you find a community of individuals who "get you." While contributing to a posting where your opinion is markedly distinct from others may provide you some backlash that could have mixed results.

PRO/CON: Many wonder whether or not technology and social media use isolates their teens or further connects them with past and present friend groups. Although most research indicates that Americans are less social than they were 30 years ago, recent studies have suggested that this is not necessarily due to technology use. In fact, a few studies have concluded that technology has improved social relations. A 2009 PEW Internet Survey found that owning a cell phone and participating in a variety of internet activities likely helps people cultivate more diverse social networks. PEW's Amanda Lenhart found that kids who text most often are most likely to spend time with friends in person. One form of socializing doesn't replace the other. It augments it.

"Kids still spend time face to face," Lenhart says. Indeed, as they get older and are given more freedom, they often ease up on social networking. Early on, the web is their "third space," but by the late teens, it's replaced in reaction to greater autonomy. Additionally, an Oxford Internet Institute study (October 2013) that examined 200 teens over the span of three years found that subjects gained new communication skills, both verbal and written, through technology use. The online world can offer teens remarkable opportunities to become literate and creative because young people can now publish ideas not just to their friends, but to the world. And it turns out that when they write for strangers, their sense of "authentic audience" makes them work harder, push themselves further and create powerful new communicative forms.

Managing Technology Use

Technology, like other activities our children engage with, has the potential to either harm or enhance mental and physical health. There is a vast health difference between a teen who plays a solitary game that doesn't encourage mental stimulation and a teen who challenges his friends to a Wii Fit game or briefly plays word-puzzle applications ["apps"]. There are many positive "apps" and games available for teens that promote good health. When it comes to technology, both quality and quantity matter.

As parents, we must also face that our teens don't always use good judgment. Like everyone else, they make mistakes - sometimes serious ones. But working out how to behave online is a new social skill. A Pew study found 15% of teens said someone had been mean or cruel to them online in the last 12 months. Even sexting may be rarer than expected: the Pew study found only 4% of teenagers had sent a "sext" and only 15% had received one, still something of concern, yet also something we can address proactively with our teens.

What can we do as parents to reap the benefits for our children? Firm decisions must be made and adhered to regarding quality/type and length of time devoted to technology. In the digital world, we are immigrants. Our children were born into it and know it much better than we do.

* Engage in conversations regarding the advantages and disadvantages of technology, and your expectations for its use in your household.

* Learn about social media and technology as much as you can.

* Don't look at technology use as a "right" held by your teen.

* Set limits to their time, get all their passwords, track their digital actions.

* Try to limit technology use in seclusion of you and take the time to know what they're doing.

* Watch videos, monitor conversations, look at friends lists and so on.

As always, the child's first line of defense in technology's impact on health is you, the parent.

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The Pros and Cons of Teens & Technology | Fusion Academy

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Technology today is reaching a critical mass stage where new products and ways of sharing are found and implemented at lightning speeds. There was a time when telling your child that they were not allowed to watch TV or have friends over was a huge punishment.

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Article about course developed about teens and technology.

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"Social media...has become a scapegoat for so many problems," says UW Professor Lucía Magis-Weinberg. "But it's more nuanced than that. It is just one of the many players in adolescent development, and it offers both risks and opportunities."

We've all heard the concerns about technology and teens: Cellphones shorten attention spans. Video games replace healthier pastimes. Social media breeds FOMO - a fear of missing out. But are the concerns warranted?

Lucía Magis-Weinberg, assistant professor of psychology in the UW College of Arts & Sciences, studies the impact of digital technology on adolescent development and recently created a new course to explore these questions. The course, PSYCH 448E: Digital Technology and Youth, was offered for the first time Autumn Quarter 2023, with 28 students enrolled.

The class explores the impact of digital media on adolescent development, covering topics such as the developing brain, identity development, depression and anxiety, attention problems, and body image. Magis-Weinberg also covers cyberbullying and ways to reduce digital distraction. If the course topics suggest that all aspects of digital technology are problematic for youth, Magis-Weinberg is quick to dispel that notion.

"We like to blame everything on social media," she says. "It has become a scapegoat for so many problems. But it's more nuanced than that. It is just one of the many players in adolescent development, and it offers both risks and opportunities."

Imagine the Adolescent Brain as a Sports Car...

As a doctoral student, Magis-Weinberg focused on adolescent brain development related to memory and decision-making. Her interest in digital technology and youth came soon after, inspired by conversations with parents and teachers concerned about how a rise in social media was affecting teens.

"That was around 2012," Magis-Weinberg recalls. "Facebook was really gaining traction by then. The concerns of parents and teachers planted a seed for me, a realization of how important this was becoming as a new context in which adolescents are interacting and learning and having issues."

"The concerns of parents and teachers planted a seed for me, a realization of how important this was becoming as a new context in which adolescents are interacting and learning and having issues," Magis-Weinberg says of her decision to pursue research on the impact of digital technology on youth. Photo by Juan Rodriguez.

Magis-Weinberg's research focuses on online spaces where youth interact with one another - social media platforms, video games, YouTube - with the specific characteristics of adolescence in mind. She notes that teens are particularly concerned with how popular they are and what their friends think of them. This has always been the case, but with the emergence of social media, such information is now ever-present. Popularity is no longer an abstraction; it can be measured by the number of "likes" on an Instagram post, visible to all.

On top of that, the adolescent brain is still developing. Magis-Weinberg likens it to a sports car with a responsive accelerator but a less responsive brake. The accelerator - the brain's limbic system - responds to things that are exciting and rewarding. In teens, that's often social interactions that bring status and popularity. The brake - the brain's cognitive control system - regulates impulses by considering long-term consequences.

"We know from research that the accelerator of the car matures much earlier than the brake of the car," Magis-Weinberg says. "The accelerator is very active by the age of 15 or 16. The brake continues to mature until about age 25. Combine that with a thrilling social media environment that is giving them social opportunities, rewards, and novelty all the time, and it's clear why social media uniquely appeals to the adolescent brain."

A Digital Record of Every Mistake

The course delves into the many ways that digital media impacts teens, both negative and positive. One area of focus is identity development. Adolescence is a time for youth to figure out their identities - what activities they enjoy, where they excel, who they are attracted to. With digital technology, all that exploring is on public display and remains forever accessible online.

"Adolescence is a time of learning and exploration, and sometimes that means making mistakes," Magis-Weinberg says. "It always has been. But now, as people are navigating identities, learning, exploring new things, making those mistakes, everything is permanently recorded."

Still, some teens find digital technology invaluable when it comes to identity development. Youth struggling to find a community that shares their identity - LGBTQ teens in rural areas, for example - may find that community on social media, which can lead to a positive and meaningful impact and support.

There is no such upside when it comes to body image and digital technology. As teens grow into their developing bodies, it is natural that they are preoccupied with looks and body standards. Their mirrors are now digital, reflecting not only themselves but often a deluge of visual content, fashion, and impossible beauty standards, which poses a risk for the development of body-image issues. Many adolescents don't realize that influencers manipulate their photos to erase any flaws.

There are a lot of positive aspects to social media and technology, but the people working directly with youth or designing these platforms need to be mindful of adolescents' particular needs.

"We blame social media for a lot of problems where the evidence is not strong," says Magis-Weinberg, "but one of the areas where we do see strong evidence that social media is damaging is body image. Social media has been shown to increase the risk of developing body-image concerns and then eating disorders tied to that. That topic really resonated with the students. A lot of them spoke about how overwhelming beauty, diet and exercise content can be on social media."

Sharing the Message with Teens

The students had an opportunity to educate their younger selves about such issues - figuratively, of course - with their final course project. Throughout the quarter, they prepared class presentations on specific aspects of digital technology and youth, highlighting recent research. For their final project, they reframed the same information for a teen audience using creative ways to deliver their messages.

A board game created by Anna Ergeson educates teens about studies of digital media and adolescents beyond the Western world. Photo courtesy of Anna Ergeson.

Rachel Singh (BA, Psychology, December 2023) created a lesson plan, tailored for middle school students, about sexual development and digital media. "I tried to incorporate what I would have wanted to hear at that age, while still acknowledging that it's an uncomfortable topic," she says.

Anna Ergeson (BS, Psychology, December 2023) created a board game, "That's Weird," to educate teens about global digital media trends. "The game's title comes from the idea that the vast majority of psychological studies center WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) populations," Ergeson explains. "I wanted adolescents to learn about important studies happening outside of the Western world, in a way that was more engaging than an essay or infographic and that allowed them to play a part in their own learning."

Magis-Weinberg was impressed by the final projects and hopes the course will help inform her students' future work, in fields ranging from clinical psychology to digital technology.

"Many of my students will go on to work with teens as clinicians, teachers, and researchers," she says. "Other students are hoping to work inside tech companies. There are a lot of positive aspects to social media and technology, but the people working directly with youth or designing these platforms need to be mindful of adolescents' particular needs. I hope my course helps with giving them a nuanced understanding of adolescent development in the digital age."

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A Closer Look at Teens & Digital Technology

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The impact of digital technology on teens' mental health is the focus of a new course developed by Lucia Magis-Weinberg in the UW Department of Psychology.

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Tips to help teens navigate technology.

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When kids make their first trip out to a store on their own, parents are clear about the benefits of the burgeoning independence and also the important guidelines: stop at the corner, wait for the light, don't talk to strangers on the sidewalk, ask a store clerk for help.

Young teens need the same kind of parental guidance as they take their first independent steps out onto the Internet.

Just as they are naïve about how the world works, research by danah boyd says that most teens-contrary to popular belief-are also naïve about the Internet. Many youth don't realize that Google searches can be biased or that advertisers blur the lines between ads, content, entertainment, and social media. To make matters more difficult, the brain undergoes a tremendous remodeling project in early adolescence, ages 12-15. Teens experience huge neurological and psychological changes to prepare for the coming independence of adulthood.

This combination of technological change and normal adolescent development creates a huge challenge for today's parents-there was no Instagram when the people raising today's teens were in high school. Though there is no one-size-fits-all approach to guiding teens' technology use, understanding these tectonic changes can help parents better guide their young teens in the wise use of technology. Here are five research-based tips.

1. Support teens' social lives online and off

Teens are absorbed by their social lives-it's one way nature nudges them out of the nest. As teens begin to individuate from their parents, peers become much more important. And these days, meeting friends often means hanging out on social media.

Far from being time-wasters, social media actually fill an important need. By tagging friends, commenting on posts, and uploading photos, teens extend the pleasure of offline relationships. According to danah boyd, social media is especially important, since over-scheduling, limited mobility, greater distances between friends, and fewer public spaces for teens have made hanging out in person more difficult.

Teens generally handle online relationships well, managing both their privacy and reputations effectively. Most know that sexting-the posting of nude or highly suggestive pictures online-is off-limits. And with its many resources and communities, the Internet can help teens develop their identities.

Still, changes in the brain in early adolescence make young teens uniquely sensitive to, and stressed by, their social world. Compared with adults and children, teens are more stressed while performing a task when they think they're being watched. Among peers, they can make riskier decisions. They are more sensitive to exclusion, showing a greater drop in mood and a spike in anxiety than adults when feeling left out.

Not surprisingly, young teens are also emotionally sensitive, experiencing higher emotional highs and lower lows overall. Combine these traits with the visibility, scalability, and permanent trace of the Internet, and you have a potential perfect storm.

Parents can help guide teens' online social experiences in a number of ways:

Discuss and model healthy relationship skills. Empathy, perspective-taking, and conversation skills learned offline will show up online.

Remind teens about the "performative" aspect of social media, which can explain why people often appear happier on Facebook than they really are.

Remind them that "friends" from different parts of their lives can all see the same messages on social media, a phenomenon boyd calls context collapse.

Acknowledge that teens are starting to deal with sexual feelings. Stay in conversation with them to help them express this side of themselves in healthy ways.

Encourage a variety of in-person, real-life relationships. How to negotiate with others face-to-face, interact with people of different power levels, and resolve conflict are among the many interpersonal skills necessary in adult life.

Invite your teens' friends to gather at your house or drive your teen to their friends' homes, so you can get to know teens' friends and their parents. Your teens will feel supported and these networks will come in handy.

Talk with your teen about taking a "meta-moment" (see item three below) to prevent blunders. Teens will make unfortunate mistakes, but these days a thoughtless remark can be visible to hundreds of others and leave a permanent record.

Whether late at night, in the car, or while doing the dishes, be available when teens are ready to talk about their social lives.

2. Balance breadth and focus in intellectual development

From the pencil to the satellite dish, every technological advance shapes young minds. How does the Internet do so? Unfortunately, research on that question is in its early stages, and expert opinions vary.

Many highly regarded scientists are concerned. UCSF's Adam Gazzaley believes that our brains didn't evolve for nonstop interactivity, while Stanford's Clifford Nass warns that multitasking has lingering cognitive costs. Some say heavy Internet use renders our thinking more superficial, less rigorous.

On the other hand, Harvard's Steven Pinker argues that the Internet makes us smarter, and technology scholar Cathy Davidson believes multitasking might be creating rich new cognitive maps. The Internet may enhance creativity in music and graphic arts, in particular.

Parents may find it easier to navigate these controversies with information about how brains develop.

Real-time play and real-life interactions are needed for children to explore, discover cause-and-effect, and lay the foundations of social skills, moral development, self-regulation, agency, and creativity. For this reason, I am wary of heavy Internet use in early childhood. It's better to expose children to a variety of activities.

By the early teen years, the brain begins to specialize. Unused neurons are pruned for more efficient processing, and the number of connections between them increases. Teen thought becomes more abstract and integrated and logical; creativity and competency increases. Whatever teens are doing-from vegging on the couch to building robots-can become more firmly established in their brains at this time.

So, for teens, I suggest supporting their focus on their emerging interests-including online interests-while still encouraging reflection, analysis, creativity, spaciousness, a quiet mind, and quickness. The more tools, the better.

3. Foster emotional and attentional self-awareness

Immaturity of the prefrontal cortex-the part of the brain most responsible for self-regulation and decision-making-can make it hard for teens to regulate their emotions and make good decisions. Peer influence, which can also impact good decision-making, is particularly potent between the ages of 12 and 14.

But teens can be taught emotional skills, like how to take a "meta-moment" - a pause between being triggered and responding-to delay decision-making in order to choose a better path. This is especially important on social media where an impulsive act can have a wide reach. They can also learn to check in with themselves to become more aware of whether or not hanging out on social media makes them feel connected and happy, or sad and excluded. They can then choose either to maintain the feeling or do something to change it.

Today's teens must also learn to focus and manage their attention. Technology expert Linda Stone points out that continuous partial attention, or paying a little bit of attention to a lot of stimuli, mimics an ongoing state of crisis-breathing becomes more shallow and the mind hyper-alert. In large doses this behavior can make people feel overwhelmed, overstimulated, and powerless.

Teens are also learning to manage their time-an ability that takes a dip at ages 12-14. Helping them set goals and screen out distractions will help them control their own attention, complete tasks while preserving their energy, and stay in more conscious control of their focus.

4. Prioritize offline connections

Young people need secure human relationships to anchor and guide them from infancy through adulthood. These interactions provide validation, information, structure, safety, love, and warmth.

Yet both young people and adults say family members spend too much time online at the expense of in-person connections. Emotions expert Barbara Fredrickson believes that in-person relationships affect our physiology differently than online relationships do, increasing our health and ability to connect with others. Kids of all ages say they want parents to turn off devices and tune in to them.

Likewise, most teens say they prefer face-to-face interactions. Though teens are trying to become autonomous, they also want to maintain close connections and to talk with their parents about things that really matter. They have been telling researchers so for decades.

Set limits on teens' technology use, emphasize real-life interaction-and practice what you preach. By checking your cell phone frequently, you may be role-modeling the very behavior you want teens to avoid.

5. Watch for trouble and intervene

How can you tell if your teen is struggling? By paying attention in real life and in cyberspace.

If you're lucky, your teen will bring problems to you. Or you may notice your teen "cry out" on the Internet, or see changes in their eating, sleeping, or social behavior. Yale psychologist Robin Stern suggests responding to your teen with empathy or a hug while you check in with yourself to manage your own anxiety and beliefs. Then use gentle prompts to allow your teen to express concerns and explore problem-solving together. Stern recommends watching for a good time to talk and beginning gently: "I noticed that you looked sad when you got offline." Conversation starters can be found here and here.

If you're still wondering if your teen is doing okay, I also recommend assessing these four areas:

Is their sense of self intact? Do they have good self-esteem? Can they express themselves? Do they get needs met appropriately?

Are their relationships intact? Kids vary, but everyone should have at least one friend. Can they talk to adults? Do they have other good relationships?

Are they doing reasonably well cognitively for their age? Do they have interests or hobbies?

Is there an absence of pathology, like obvious anxiety or depression?

Beyond that, enjoy your teen and find ways to connect that make you both happy. That's the glue in your relationship, and it will get you through the rough spots-both online and off.

Greater Good wants to know: Do you think this article will influence your opinions or behavior?

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Five Tips for Helping Teens Manage Technology

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When kids make their first trip out to a store on their own, parents are clear about the benefits of the burgeoning independence and also the important guidelines: stop at the corner, wait for the light, don't talk to strangers on the sidewalk, ask a store clerk for help.