Helping Teens Manage Technology
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to guiding teens’ technology use, but it helps to understand both the technology and normal brain development.
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.
