Adolescent development and social
media use
Dr Hayley van Zwanenberg
September 2015
A REAL AND LASTING DIFFERENCE FOR EVERYONE WE SUPPORT
Quiz
1. How is adolescence defined?
2. What stage of development did Piaget state adolescents
were in?
3. At what age does the brain stop developing?
4. Are there any brain changes during adolescence?
5. Do hormones cause them to be moody and defiant, if
so how?
6. Is social media helpful in assisting teenagers develop
their identity?
7. Is there any link between social media use and
depression and anxiety in adolescents?
Piaget – Formal operational stage
• Starts around the age of 12 to approximately 20
• Abstract thought and hypothetical reasoning and
systematic planning emerges.
• They can start to use logic and come out with creative
solutions to problems.
• Start to consider past experiences, present demands and
future consequences.
At what age does the brain stop
developing?
• Most studies show that abstract reasoning, memory and
formal capacity for planning are fully developed by age
15 or 16.
• Adolescents do find it more difficult to interrupt an
interaction underway, to think before acting or chose
between safer and risky alternatives.
At what age does the brain stop
developing? Are there any brain
changes during adolescence?
- Human brain circuits are not mature until the early 20’s.
- Some of last connections are between prefrontal cortex
(used for judgement and problem solving) and the
amygdala and the “emotional centres” in the limbic
system. Critical for high level self regulation and
emotional learning.
Are there any brain changes during
adolescence?
• White matter volume increases in the first 2 or 3
decades of life. (Many psychiatric illness that appear in
adolescence show frontal white matter changes).
• Grey matter peaks in late childhood and decreases in
adolescence (synaptic density decreases in the prefrontal
cortex in adolescents). More intelligent individuals tend
to show greater changes in the prefontal cortex
thickness during adolescents
At what age does the brain stop
developing?
• Adolescents judgement can be overwhelmed by the urge
for new experiences, thrill seeking, and sexual and
aggressive impulses.
• Resisting social pressure is harder for teenagers –
adolescents take more chances when their friends are
watching.
Are there any brain changes during
adolescence?
• Brain is reshaped at puberty. Proliferation and pruning,
especially in frontal lobe.
• Myelination of axons continues into early 20’s especially
in corpus callosum (connects right and left hemispheres)
• The circuit linking the prefrontal cortex to the midbrain
region is still developing:
Hormones in high levels in the adolescent brain:
• Adrenal stress hormones
• Sex hormones (testosterone increases 30X in adolescent
boys).
• Growth hormone
• Sex hormones act in the limbic system and raphe
nucleus (where serotonin is produced). Does this impact
on mood and behaviour? Maturational changes in the
serotonin system occur throughout adolescence.
Identity development
• Identity development is a central task of adolescence,
research suggests social media may be helpful.
• Adolescents can reveal different aspects of themselves
anonymously or not, and test out real, ideal and false
selves. It can help them develop meaning about the
complex areas of their life.
• Similarly social media may be positive for intimacy
development.
• They can access a diverse group of peers who can help
them understand the it affective states, providing
emotional support even through emojis.
Does social media effect adolescent
wellbeing?
• Most adolescents use social media positively to extend
friendships.
• Research has shown social media use is linked to
depression, stress and anxiety. However the relationship
is complex.
• It is unclear if the frequency of use is associated with
anxiety or if the online presentation of a false self is the
issue.
• Peer rejection and a lack of close friends are among the
strongest predictors of depression and negative self
views.
• Cyberbullying>depression/anxiety than traditional
bullying.
Does social media effect adolescent
wellbeing?
• Conscientiousness has been shown to be protective for
adolescence in internet use and a hostile classroom
contexts increase vulnerability, especially for girls.
- What should our role be as inpatient clinicians?
- Should young people have social media access on the
inpatient wards?
- “In no other stage of the life cycle, are the promise of
finding oneself and the threat of losing oneself so closely
allied” – Erik H Erikson, Identity Youth and Crisis.
Recommendations:
• Include questions about internet use in our assessments
• In a unique position to educate families about the
complexities of the digital world and issues that can arise
for teenagers.
• Teenagers whose parents talk to them “a lot”, have:
- Greater concern about their internet safety and sharing
of personal information
- Lower incidence public online profiles
- Lower incidence of meeting people from the online world
Recommendations:
• Help inpatients understand issues of bulling, risk taking,
depression, social anxiety and sexual risks.
• Consider having media literacy guidelines
Any questions?