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