Impact of Social Media on Teenage Brain and Behavior – And What To Do About It

We are delighted to welcome Hima Reddy, Ph.D., to our team of bloggers. Dr. Reddy is a licensed psychologist and learning specialist at The Yellin Center, who will use her specialized training and experience to inform and engage our readers.

Social media is part of our daily existence. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and LinkedIn are just a few of the popular sites out there. A recent study published in Psychology of Popular Media Culture found that twelfth graders spend nearly six hours per day on digital platforms, which raises the question: what does this mean for the teenage brain?

A recent study reported in Child Development looked at the results of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) of approximately 61 high school and college students, age 13-21, to examine the impact of peer influence on multiple brain regions. Researchers found that both cohorts showed greater activation in the area of our brain involved in reward and pleasure, the nucleus accumbens, when they were viewing ‘Likes’ of their photographs on Instagram. A popularity effect occurs. Teens watch their photos receive a large amount of ‘Likes’ and are reinforced (rewarded) for putting up such a great picture, which explains why teenagers keep up that steady stream of photographs.

The study also examined age related differences in brain responses to social media. Researchers found that high schoolers experienced a stronger response to social reward than college students. High schoolers were also less likely to use the part of their brain responsible for cognitive control when they viewed pictures of 'risk-taking' behaviors, such as alcohol use, smoking, and partying. Researchers suggest that, “Social media tools offer an opportunity for adolescents and young adults to socialize one another to norms relating to these activities.” It is clear that the teenage brain is sensitive to peer approval and vulnerable to risk-taking. Much like the golden age of TV advertisements, social media platforms provide a visual gateway for public consumption.

The long term impact of social media on the developing brain remains to be studied. Parents and educators need to be aware that social media use becomes a habit that is reinforced 20, 50, or hundreds of times per day. Habits this strong can be hard to break.

Pediatrician Screening for Social Media Use Urged

In the latest issue of the journal Pediatrics, a team from the Baylor School of Medicine has proposed expanding the guidelines for adolescent health screenings to include questions about social media use.

The proposal is based on data that finds teen social use resembles the patterns of substance addiction, with usage increasing over time from an average of 16 minutes a day between ages 10 and 12 to an average of 71 minutes a day during adolescence. Teenage girls report the highest usage, some 142 minutes per day on average. Anxiety during periods of withdrawal increase with age and usage, with 80 percent of college students indicating that they feel anxious when they are not able to access their devices, the authors report.

Furthermore, the proposal notes that research has shown clear relationships between mental health and social media usage. Excessive use of social media may contribute to feelings of isolation, depression, and anxiety in vulnerable teens. In addition, teens with mental illness may use social media to express their thoughts and feelings.

Because of this, the authors believe that pediatricians need to expand the current standard for psychosocial screening: HEADSSS, which stands for questions about:

• Home life
• Education
• Activities
• Drugs
• Sexual Activity
• Safety
• Suicide and/or depression.

This kind of screening is generally done without a parent in the room, so the teen will be more likely to be open with the physician. An additional "S" for social media usage should be added, the authors urge, and they suggest that pediatricians should ask all patients older than age 11 the following questions:

• Which social media sites/apps to you use regularly?
• How long to you spend on social media sites/apps on a typical day? 
• suggestions are given for how a teen might track this usage
• Do you think you use social media too much?
• If the answer is yes, ask if they have tried to fix this
• Does viewing social media increase or decrease your self confidence?
• Have you personally experienced cyberbullying, sexting, or someone online asking to have sexual relations with you?
• The physician may need to explain to the patient what these terms mean

If social media screening raises concerns, the physician may follow up in one of several ways, including follow up visits or referrals to mental health resources. Parents should make sure that their child or teen's physician uses the HEADSSS screening -- and adds the additional "S" to inquire about social media. 

Photo by freestocks.org on Unsplash

Personal Learning Networks

Here at The Yellin Center, in addition to our work with K-12 students, we also work with college-level and professional learners. We also provide professional development for organizations and schools looking to integrate our neurodevelopmental model into their practices. We know that adult learners, similar to young students, benefit from a diversified, personalized learning experience.

We also understand that teaching adults can differ in several ways from how we typically instruct children. The theories that underpin andragogy, the method by which we teach adults, explicitly states the importance of fostering a deep rooted motivation to learn, utilizing hands-on learning experiences and offering learners a choice in what to learn. Therefore, when working with mature learners one wants to promote an environment of self-determination where learners are finding answers to real world problems they face in their everyday lives. Instead of teaching adults what to learn, the goal is to teach them how to learn, as well as how to seek out answers to their own personal needs. As such, it is vital to provide mature learners with materials, resources and strategies that can help promote learning after the workshop or initial learning has occurred.

One way to promote learning after the initial experience is to connect learners to personal learning networks (PNL), which are communities of learners who are looking to build a shared skill set. PNL’s promote collaboration and a sharing of skills among eager learners. They spark conversation and connect learners to experts in the area in which they want to grow. 

In the truly global and digital society we live in today there are several ways to connect learners to established learning communities. Social Media is a great place to start. PNL’s covering a range of topics exist on platforms such as Facebook, Google+, Twitter and LinkedIn. The best way to get plugged in is to search key words associated with what you want to learn about, using LinkedIn or Twitter search. Explore the results and beginning following people who are discussing your interests. When you are ready, you can start sharing your own ideas, tweets and resources with the communities you become a part of. If you are interested in creating your own professional learning network, there are sites such as Ning, which allow you to create your own, personal social network.

There are also several communities, both online and in the real world, in which adult learners can participate. For example, anyone working in education often finds Edutopia’s community an incredibly valuable resource. Alternatively, for educators looking to boost tech skills, ISTE’s forums are a great place to start.  IT professionals will find a great community at Cisco Learning Network. Professionals across disciplines will be able to find a group and resources at Reddit or MeetUp. Professional development isn’t just about building functional skills for workers. As a leader of professional development, you want to inspire curiosity, and motivate professionals to discover new ways to learn and seek out how to integrate new ideas into their professional practice.

Using Popular Media to Interpret Literature

Half of your students didn’t finish last night’s homework because they were glued to Facebook. Instead of getting mad, get even. Creative teachers can use kids’ fixation with social media, popular music, movies, and celebrities to their advantage. Consider some of the following ideas:

You Be the Casting Director
Tell your students they are in charge of casting a movie version of a book or short story the class is reading. Ask them to choose movie stars or other celebrities to fill the main roles and explain their choices. Maybe Tobey Maguire would play The Great Gatsby’s Nick perfectly because he is soft-spoken and meek, just like Nick, whose function in the book is to report all the action without really being a major player in its events. Perhaps Liv Tyler would be an ideal Ophelia because she is beautiful enough to make Hamlet fall in love with her, but her big eyes give her the look of a love-sick girl who ultimately falls victim to the combined whims of Hamlet and her father.

Play it Again, Sam
Pick several pivotal scenes in a text your class has read and ask them what background music would fit. Students can select songs based either on their lyrics, or their overall tone. “Soldier” by Eminem might be the perfect song to accompany the opening of Fahrenheit 451 when Guy Montag is determinedly setting houses aflame to burn the books inside. Aaron Copeland’s “Hoedown” (from Rodeo) might capture the frantic excitement of the boys in the beginning of Lord of the Flies when they first realize that they are in control of a tropical island.

Friend Holden on Facebook
Another strategy can build on an article by Elizabeth C. Lewis in the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. Ask students to make a booklet with various pages showing what various literary character’s Facebook pages would look like. Who would write on Holden’s Wall and what would they say? What Favorite Quotations might Atticus Finch list? What Activities and Interests would Ebenezer Scrooge post on his page? To whom would The Crucible’s Abigail send a friend request?


Far from being frivolous, these kinds of activities promote the kind of deep processing that leads to learning. Students who engage in critical comparisons and creative interpretations are honing the kind of higher order thinking skills they’ll need to get the most out of literature, or any subject they study.

Images used under Creative Commons by uten44, Jay Cameron, and Kevin Stanchfield.

Social Media and our Children

A new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics -- The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families  -- bears reading in its entirety, not just by the pediatricians for whom it is intended, but by parents and teens. It lays out the benefits of social media and online resources of all kinds and discusses how these can be misused or harmful to younger children or teens. What we particularly liked about this piece is that it is not alarmist, but enormously practical. It provides an important starting point for parents to have serious and ongoing conversations with their children of all ages and reminds us that no matter how sophisticated the technology in our lives may be, the crucial role of parents in providing their children with guidance and supervision has not diminished.