Background: The overwhelming majority of teenagers consume over 10 hours of screen time per day. With these extreme numbers, the effects on their brains are large especially considering adolescent hormonal changes, schooling, and brain plasticity. These effects include the development of attention issues and fidgetiness.

Over time, It has become a common delusion that teenagers are lazy and don't put the effort into their schooling. This was built by the observation of teenagers losing focus during classes, when studying, and when working. Most parents see this and assume negative thoughts about their children and push them to study harder and work longer without any consideration of their age. The stress teenagers are subjected to during the essential time of brain and body development is overwhelming and this is directly shown through teen suicide statistics, which are currently the 2nd largest cause of death in the United States of America.

The observation of most teenagers leads most people to have a negative viewpoint of them. It is important for parents to know why their children are developing attention issues and losing concentration. Teenage brains are still not fully developed in the prefrontal cortex. This part of the brain functions well with adults, but functions less effectively in children, resulting in chaotic thought patterns. Their sleep patterns are delayed due to their internal clock and when their body secretes melatonin. Teens, who spend excess time at a screen amplify the lack of attention they already have. There are many factors that play a role in the lack of attention in teens and how it negatively displays them in society. The first step is to educate parents on these issues that they are unaware of to better equip them for parenting their child.

Objective: To investigate the effect technology has on adolescent brain development/attention span and provide information to parents/guardians’ on adolescent behaviour that may result from this interaction.

Methods: Information will be found through scholarly research articles surrounding the relationship between teenage brain attention span and technology. I plan to look at “The Digital Revolution and Adolescent Brain Evolution.” published by The Journal of Adolescent Health. This article discusses the development of the adolescent brain in relation to technology. I also plan to look at  “Impacts of Technology use on Children: Exploring Literature on the brain, cognition and well-being” published by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development on 31 January 2019. This article includes information on the effects of technology on children and addresses how technology overuse can lead to behavioural and attention issues in children. Another article I will look at is Mind Games: Technology and the Developing Teenage Brain published by Frontiers for Young Minds on June 19, 2020. This article discusses the relationship between children’s brains, technology and social media. It addresses how technology can affect our sleep and inturn affect attention levels. I also plan on looking at the article “Attention Spans in the Age of Technology” published by the National Alliance on Mental Illness on 14 Aug. 2017. This article presents the relationship between the teen brain, technology and attention span, it exhibits how technology affects children’s instant gratification and reduces attention span. I will also examine “Common Sleep Problems (for Teens) published by Nemours TeensHealth in August 2014. The article discussed the relationship between the teen brain and sleep, it showed that teenagers have trouble sleeping because their brain works on later schedules. The inclusion criteria for this topic are students from ages 13-19 enrolled in a Canadian or U.S educational institution. 

References

1. Giedd, Jay N. “The Digital Revolution and Adolescent Brain Evolution.” The Journal of Adolescent Health: Official Publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Aug. 2012, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3432415/. 
2. Gottschalk, Francesca. “IMPACTS OF TECHNOLOGY USE ON CHILDREN: EXPLORING LITERATURE ON THE BRAIN, COGNITION AND WELL-BEING.” Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 31 January 2019 http://www.oecd.org/officialdocuments/publicdisplaydocumentpdf/?cote=EDU/WKP%282019%293&docLanguage=En 
3. Weinberg, Lucia Magis, and Estelle L. Berger. “Mind Games: Technology and the Developing Teenage Brain.” Frontiers for Young Minds, 19 June 2020, kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2020.00076.
4. Bhat, Jyothsna. “Attention Spans in the Age of Technology.” NAMI, 14 Aug. 2017, www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/August-2017/Attention-Spans-in-the-Age-of-Technology.
5. “Common Sleep Problems (for Teens) - Nemours KidsHealth.” Edited by Rupal Christine Gupta, KidsHealth, The Nemours Foundation, Aug. 2014, kidshealth.org/en/teens/sleep.html#:~:text=It%27s%20because%20their%20brains%20naturally,up%20later%20in%20the%20morning.