Commentary
The Digital Revolution and Adolescent Brain Evolution

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Abstract

Remarkable advances in technologies that enable the distribution and use of information encoded as digital sequences of 1s or 0s have dramatically changed our way of life. Adolescents, old enough to master the technologies and young enough to welcome their novelty, are at the forefront of this “digital revolution.” Underlying the adolescent's eager embracement of these sweeping changes is a neurobiology forged by the fires of evolution to be extremely adept at adaptation. The consequences of the brain's adaptation to the demands and opportunities of the digital age have enormous implications for adolescent health professionals.

Section snippets

The Adolescent Brain: Evolution and Neurobiology

The adolescent brain is not a broken or defective adult brain. It has been exquisitely forged by the forces of evolution to have different features compared with children or adults, but these differences have served our species well. The three most robust adolescent behavioral changes are (1) increased risk taking, (2) increased sensation seeking, and (3) a move away from parent toward greater peer affiliation. That these changes occur not only in humans but in all social mammals suggests a

Education in the Digital Age

The greatest benefits of the digital revolution will stem from ease of information access—never before has so much information been available to so many. Increasingly ubiquitous and immediate access to information has profound implications for how to optimize our educational system. “Google it” is sound advice to begin learning about any topic imaginable. Amazing free content, such as through the Khan Academy's math curriculum videos (http://www.khanacademy.org) or TED Talks' compilation of

Entertainment

The most common forms of digital entertainment are TV (4.5 hr/d), music (3 hr/d), and nongaming use of computers (1.5 hr/d) [1]. Next most common are video games (1.25 hr/d)—from computers, the Internet, game consoles, or handheld/mobile devices.

Video games are a $25-billion-per-year industry and are popular and available across socioeconomic status and gender—99% of teen boys and 94% of teen girls play video games on one or more of the aforementioned platforms [20]. The amount of time spent on

Digital Revolution—Social

The human brain is a social brain. Our ability to gauge the moods and intentions of others, to detect the truth or falsehood of their communications, to discern friend from foe, and to form alliances is among its most complex and important tasks. These skills are of premier importance to fulfill our biological imperatives of staying alive (through the protection of the group) and reproducing. From this perspective, it is no wonder that so much of our brain is dedicated to social cognition. In

Discussion

The digital revolution is altering the arena in which teens pursue the perpetual tasks of adolescent development—to learn about the world, to establish their independence and identities, and to socialize with their peers. The Pew Internet and American Life Project Foundation synthesized results from their survey of >1,000 technology stakeholders and critics in a report with the less-than-decisive, but I think ultimately accurate, title of “Millennials will benefit and suffer due to their

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