Teen Brains Susceptible to Facebook

Teen Brains Susceptible to Facebook

96% of College students use Facebook... when you think about that statistic, it's amazing, but not surprising since this generation is highly energized by technology. "Well-balanced youth often use these sites to further enhance the positive relationships they already have," according to University of Virginia psychologists. But there's a downside for others...

Teens who have behavioral problems and difficulty making friends, or who are depressed, may be more inclined to use social media in negative and sometimes aggressive ways, or not to use such sites at all.

Teens are spending a lot of time hooked up and average of 6 hours a day, according to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Parents, researchers and educators are trying to figure out what all these hours plugged in are doing to their brains.

The teenage brain is an unfinished product," explains David Walsh, psychologist and author of Why Do They Act that Way? A Survival Guide to the Adolescent Brain for You and Your Teen In the teenage years, says Walsh, one of the major circuits that's developing is the prefrontal cortex. 'The circuits that are under construction during the teen years have to do with impulse control, management of aggression, emotional regulation, self regulation a lot of executive functions of the brain," he says.

It's also the reason teenagers are famous for having to pull all-nighters, not thinking through the consequences of downloading porn onto mom's computer, or piercing their tongues. That's because the prefrontal cortex also handles planning, reasoning and social skills, says Jordan Grafman, who heads the cognitive neuroscience section at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. "It's what makes us human," he says and because it's still developing, "it's very susceptible to trends and changes that happen during the adolescent years."

The amazing infographic below mirrors these findings visually as it reveals Facebook's good and bad impact on high school and college age youth.

Infographic on overall Facebook user stats:


Via: Online Education