Helping Youth Thrive Online

The second report from the National Scientific Council on Adolescence, Engaging, Safe, and Evidence-Based: What Science Tells Us About How to Promote Positive Development and Decrease Risk in Online Spaces for Early Adolescents is now available from the UCLA Center for the Developing Adolescent.

The report explains why the early adolescent years—about age 10 to 13—are a critical window for the impacts of digital tech, and the kinds of research-informed standards that could amplify the benefits and reduce the risks of these impacts on kids. The authors offer specific suggestions to ensure that digital tech like social media:

• Supports healthy development and wellbeing

• Keeps young users safe

• Incorporates and advances the best available research

• Provides access to learning for all young adolescents

The report was written by leading researchers studying the effects of technology on young people. The Center for the Developing Adolescent has the full report and short summaries available.

Interested in putting this into practice? You might want to explore Social Media Testdrive, a learning experience aiming to prepare young people for the online world through experiential learning in a simulated social media environment.