Adolescence is an exciting period of life shaped by risks, rewards, and rapid changes in the brain. On this episode of Screen Deep, we explore how adolescent brains affect and are affected by their digital media use with Eva Telzer, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Co-Director of the Winston National Center on Technology Use, Brain, and Psychological Development.

An expert on adolescent neuroscience, behavior, and media use, Telzer discusses insights from her large and growing body of research, including multi-year projects investigating the dynamic relationship between teens’ social media use and the makeup of their brain. How does social media trigger the reward system of the brain? Can teens’ habitual smartphone behaviors impact their developing brains? Are some teens more prone to problematic smartphone use than others? Tune in to hear how Telzer’s research helps answer these questions.

In this episode you will learn:

• Why social reward cues (likes, comments, etc) have a unique impact on the developing adolescent brain
• Why social reward cues (likes, comments, etc) have a unique impact on the developing adolescent brain
• How research utilizing functional MRI is expanding our knowledge about changes in the brains of adolescents habitually engaging in social media use
• What neurological factors put some teens at a higher risk for problematic social media use than others
• How research dispels popular stereotypes of adolescents as high risk takers and dependent on peer influence?
• How the reward system in the brain works and ways it can be redirected for positive social behaviors and connections online by adolescents

For more resources and research on this topic visit the Learn and Explore section of the Children and Screens website (https://www.childrenandscreens.org)

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Follow Children and Screens on:

Facebook: Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development
Instagram: @childrenandscreens
LinkedIn: Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development
Twitter: @childrenscreens

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Music: 'Life in Silico' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au

Sleep is an essential part of life, and the quality and quantity of a person’s nightly sleep has wide-ranging impacts on cognition, behavior, and health. On this episode of Screen Deep, host Kris Perry discusses children and teens’ sleep and its relationship to digital media with Dr. Lauren Hale, Professor of Family, Population, and Preventative Medicine at Stony Brook University and Founding Editor in Chief of the Sleep Health Journal.

Lauren provides an overview of research into the impacts of digital media on teens’ sleep, including a 2024 scientific consensus panel that evaluated how different aspects of digital device use impact sleep. She also discusses the societal implications of teens’ poor sleep health, and the policy changes that could improve them.

In this episode you'll learn:

• Why sleep is important for cognitive and overall health - and why sleep regularity may be as important as duration
• Which populations are getting less sleep and possible consequences
• What the latest research tells us about technology use and sleep - delayed sleep, sleep duration, impaired sleep quality, digital sleep interruption, and blue light
• What types of screen use and media content are associated with poorer sleep quality for youth
• Why abolishing Daylight Savings Time and changing school start times may positively impact youth sleep health

For more resources and research on this topic visit the Learn and Explore section of the Children and Screens website (https://www.childrenandscreens.org)

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Follow Children and Screens on:

Facebook: Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development

Instagram: @childrenandscreens

LinkedIn: Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development

Twitter: @childrenscreens

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Music: 'Life in Silico' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au