“Warning: Brain Under Construction 🚧” Debate 2
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References:
The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory “Social Media and Youth Mental Health”
American psychological Association Health advisory on social media use in adolescence
Social media and youth: A call to action Canadian Paediatic society
Social Media and Adolescent Mental Health: Pediatric Mental Health Minute Series
When Does the Prefrontal Cortex Fully Develop?
Thank you for your unique nursing perspective, Jillian! I love the science behind it all. I have to tell you that my 11 year old daughter was sitting next to me while I watched your blog and when she heard you talk about how your family has taken a step back from competitive sports, she turned to me and said, “Can we do that?” This is something that I have also struggled with as a parent – finding the right balance of getting my kids involved, but also letting them be kids and having time to just play and be with friends and family. Our society puts a lot of pressure on doing things, so I applaud you and your family for doing that for yourselves. I hope it continues to be a positive thing for your kids and for you! One thing that my family does to reconnect with each other is to have intentional unplugs. We have one day each winter near Christmas that we completely unplug and turn off all technology, cellphones, computers, TVs, everything, and just spend time together. We have also started doing some remote camping without any power, where we similarly unplug and spend time out in nature, just as a family, each summer. After each of these times, my kids always ask why we don’t do this more often, because they love it so much. They have our undivided attention and no pressure to engage with their friends for a little window of time, and I think it can be so refreshing for all of us. I really feel that taking these intentional moments helps my family to stay better connected throughout the regular day-to-day, and I get more buy-in from them when I ask them to unplug because they understand the benefits of it.
Hi Venessa,
Thanks for your comment. Yes things are going super well with the stepping back a bit this year. My kids are still super busy (volleyball camps this week, diving camp last week) but doing more rec programs and not elite sports. We are trying it for a year!!! I want them to get back to the FUN of things where training always to win or be the best is not the main goal, also its nice to see them with less pressure on their little shoulders. I love your disconnect idea. We are spending the summer at the lake in our camper and have zero internet and the only TV is old dvds. Its so awesome to have my kids paddleboard at 7am, bike around, play football, swim and just explore nature! This is our family time around the fire at nights. So it also sounds like your kids enjoy it as well!!!!
Thank you for your reflection Jillian!
I really appreciated your commentary about the brain development in adolescence. As surprising as the comment about the end of childhood being 10 was we are seeing this in the way our students interact with social media and their consumer habits. There are a plethora of TikToks talking about pre-teens buying anti-aging facial lines. Make up tutorials are geared towards the make-up trends of 20 years old. The landscape of childhood as we knew it is dying, and being replaced with a childhood of connectivity, and, I would argue, societal pressure to grow up too fast. I never really made the connection until you said that the impulsivity and ability to determine good/bad content wasn’t fully developed until 25. It is an important reminder that we need to consistently guide these students through the intricacies of the internet, and not be content with a one and done lesson. Even us adults require more than one lesson to fully comprehend some skills, so how can we be content with one lesson about digital citizenship with our students. We need to check our expectations with these digitally savvy children to innately make good decisions online, and remember they are still just children. They still need us.
Thank you again!
Sheila