September 15, 2022
Teens & Tech offers a free curriculum about how the brain development of adolescents affects their technology use and wellbeing. The curriculum, developed in a partnership between University of North Carolina (UNC)–Chapel Hill researchers and middle school educators, meets National Health Education Standards for middle schoolers.
Teachers can explore the curriculum’s six modules: “The Adolescent Brain—Why Is It Different?” “What Is the Science Behind Why Adolescents Are Motivated to Use Technology?” “Making Connections” “Positive and Negative Effects of Social Media” “Sleep and Technology” and “How Adolescents Learn From Digital Media.”
Plus: UNC-Chapel Hill students have created Teens Teaching Teens videos to teach other teens about social media, technology, and adolescent brain development. The videos address “Friendship and Social Interactions on Social Media” “Social Media, Technology, and Reward” “Social Media and Body Image” “Screentime and Sleep” and “Technology in Our Everyday Lives.”
Plus: Teens & Tech also provides the Handbook of Adolescent Digital Media Use and Mental Health, a free, open-access ebook, published by Cambridge University Press. The book has 16 chapters, several of which have brief video overviews.