Abstract
The current generation of adolescents grows up in a media-saturated world. However, it is unclear how media influences the maturational trajectories of brain regions involved in social interactions. Here we review the neural development in adolescence and show how neuroscience can provide a deeper understanding of developmental sensitivities related to adolescents' media use. We argue that adolescents are highly sensitive to acceptance and rejection through social media, and that their heightened emotional sensitivity and protracted development of reflective processing and cognitive control may make them specifically reactive to emotion-arousing media. This review illustrates how neuroscience may help understand the mutual influence of media and peers on adolescents' well-being and opinion formation.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 588 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Nature Communications |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 21 Feb 2018 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Dec 2018 |
Funding
We thank the reviewers for their detailed and insightful comments on the manuscript, and Lara Wierenga for providing helpful comments on previous versions of the manuscript. This work was supported by The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO-VICI 453-14-001 E.A.C.) and by an innovative ideas grant of the European Research Council (ERC CoG PROSOCIAL 681632 to E.A.C.). Both authors were supported by the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIAS: September 2013–September 2014).
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Horizon 2020 Framework Programme | 681632 |
| European Research Council | |
| Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences | |
| Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek | NWO-VICI 453-14-001 |
