On Tuesday, September 17th, Staff Writer Zane viewed one of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Brain Insight Lectures, hosted by Columbia’s Zuckerman Institute, on an intriguing and increasingly relevant subject titled “Plugged into Adolescence: Brains, Bytes, and Behavior in Teen.”

Tuesday’s lecture, “Plugged into Adolescence: Brains, Bytes, and Behavior in Teen,” featured three experts who explored the complexities of an adolescent brain, both off and online. Held at the Jerome L. Greene Science Center, the lecture welcomed a large audience from New York City and a global livestream viewership, including myself.   

Dr. Diana Li, Associate Director of Education and Training, presented the opening remarks of the Initiatives at the Zuckerman Institute. Li recognized the Zuckerman Institute not only as an academic department but as a building full of dedication to the science behind the brain. “We love neuroscience in this building,” Li remarked with a laugh. 

Dr. Paul Alexander Bloom, a postdoctoral research scientist in Columbia’s Department of Psychology, served as the host and moderator of the event. His recent work focuses on the risk and protective factors of depression and suicide in adolescents by closely tracking their internet usage patterns over long periods. 

Adolescence is critical for many aspects of human development, including brain maturation and identity formation.  Bloom highlighted that, recently, adolescent behavior has been attracting widespread interest from our society. He then introduced the key speakers of the event: Dr. BJ Casey and Dr. Ioana Literat. 

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Dr. BJ Casey, Director of the Fundamentals of the Adolescent Brain (FAB) Lab and Professor of Neuroscience at Barnard, opened the presentation by challenging stereotypes about the adolescent brain.

“I think the Adolescent brain has gotten a bad ‘rep,’” she joked. Small laughs emerge through the crowd, tinged with a hint of embarrassment, acknowledging the truth in the statement. 

She set the tone of her presentation by addressing the widespread misconceptions surrounding adolescence, comparing it to a “deflected car:” no brakes, no steering wheel, just an accelerator. Is that how the teenage brain works? Or, is it an excuse to justify a teenager’s bad decision-making and risky behavior? 

Casey argued that in earlier stages of development, an infant’s inability to walk or talk isn’t described as a deficit, but as a stage of development. Why not the same for an adolescent? “Because we’re trying to suggest that [teenagers] may be more vulnerable due to the immaturity of the brain,” Casey explained. Additionally, she addressed the correlation between the immaturity of the brain and the increased risk for mental health problems. Casey defined adolescence as “the developmental transition from the dependence of the caregiver to relative independence with onset at puberty.” This definition, I believe, empowers the growing generation, far more than the standard definition of “the phase between childhood and adulthood.” 

In her research, Casey has employed human imaging techniques to explain the processes in the teenage brain. During adolescent years, she says the emotional regions of the brain undergo peak changes, while the control regions develop more gradually.

Through her research, Casey stated that during adolescence, there is “heightened sensitivity to rewards and threats.” Compared to children and adults, teenagers’ brains are more reactive to potential threats and maintain a response for a longer time, increasing the risk of anxiety. Casey also noted that teens are particularly responsive to social cues and seek acceptance from peers, which strongly influence their brains and behavior.

Casey ended her presentation with an extremely positive note, explaining that these “heightened responses that we’re seeing…can facilitate both their exploration and their acquisition of the skills needed to become an independent and contributing member of society.” The lure of incentives, such as rewards and peer acceptance, can foster independence and resource management. Being highly receptive to social cues helps teens navigate socialization and prepare for adult responsibilities. A sustained reaction to a potential threat could help avoid the prospective danger of new surroundings. 

Social Media and Political Expression

Our second speaker, Dr. Ioana Literat, Associate Professor in Communication Media at Teachers College, focused her research on youth online participation with a focus on civil and creative practices. Literat directs the Media and Social Change Lab, also known as the Mask Lab. She also has a very exciting novel coming out on October 10th titled, Not Your Parent’s Politics. Her presentation builds on the captivating points made by Casey, commenting on how changes manifest in the youth online participation. 

Literat views social media as “a site for youth activism…a way to connect to institutional politics…a forum for dialogue across political views…tool for media literacy education…and a collective self-portrait of Gen-Z.” These platforms act as a unifier for the generation. With this unifier in place, there is more likely to be a more engaged constructive conversation between debating parties. 

To research how Gen-Z is conducting themselves on social media and participating in political discussion, Literat, and her team examined almost 10,000 TikToks tagged Gen-Z and their associated comments. The research emphasized that the dominant ideals of political expression, which prioritized facts and rationality with a detached and objective voice, differed significantly from the youth ideals of political expression, which are more humorous, emotional, and personal. She commented, “Politics is meant to be personal.” These youth ideals, because they are so different from the dominant ideals, come across as unserious and unmeaningful, when that is far from the truth. 

Literat stressed the importance of social media for providing a space for youth political expression. It allows the youth to form political opinions and “serve as a precursor for further political participation and facilitate social change.” Her ending note is equally as powerful. She articulates the importance of “supporting better political expression,” “listen[ing] and learn[ing] from youth,” “prioritiz[ing] relevance, and consider[ing] youth political expression on social media as key.” 

After the two presentations, Dr. Bloom led an enthusiastic discussion with Dr. Casey and Dr. Literat, jumping to and from various curious questions. The lecture concluded by leaving audience members with new ideas about our future adults, reminding us to hold hope in adolescence. We’ve all been there before. 

The full event is available on the Zuckerman Institute’s YouTube. 

Brain Insight Lecture via Author