Every generation has its moral panic and for Gen Z — teenagers today — it is, undoubtedly, social media.
Recent public health warnings have stoked fears in parents that a generation of kids is doomed because they are always online. Girls, the headlines warn, are at particular risk: Mental health-related E.R. visits are up, anxiety is skyrocketing and they are being inundated with images of the “thin body ideal.”
“This is really the first truly digital generation, and we have yet to see how much effect this has.”
Still, neuroscientists and psychologists who specialize in the teenage brain put it plainly: Yes, social media is of concern because the rapidly developing adolescent brain may be uniquely vulnerable to what the platforms have to offer. But the science is not nearly as settled as some of the most dire headlines would make it seem.
“This is really the first truly digital generation, and we have yet to see how much effect this has,” said Dr. Frances Jensen, a neurologist at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of “The Teenage Brain.”
“We can get snapshots,” she added.
What we know is that the brain matures from back to front, a process that starts in infancy and continues into adulthood, Dr. Jensen explained. And during adolescence, there is a particular flurry of activity in the middle part of the brain, which is associated with rewards and social feedback.
“Areas that have to do with peers, peer pressure, impulsivity and emotion are very, very, very active,” Dr. Jensen said.
Mitch Prinstein, the chief science officer at the American Psychological Association, said that “other than the first year of life, this is the most significant and important change that happens in our brains in our entire lives.”
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