“We use [gen AI] for very creative purposes, not just cheating on homework.”
“We use AI because we are lonely and also because real people are mean and judging sometimes and AI isn’t."
"What do teens think adults should know about how they’re using GenAI?" That’s the question we asked more than 1,500 teens as we’ve kicked off a new strand of work to uncover their experiences with tools like ChatGPT. Their answers — as always — give us new insight and push our thinking in new directions. You can read more about what we learned in the report Teen and Young Adult Perspectives on Generative AI we contributed to alongside our friends at Hopelab and Common Sense.
“These mental gymnastics can be overwhelming and exhausting and make me want to throw my phone out a window. But, then I remember how tech allows me to reach friends and family around the world and stay updated on current events and makes me laugh and feel less alone.”
We keep coming back to this phrase — “mental gymnastics'' — as a poignant way of capturing what it can feel like for teens to navigate social media. The quote is from a recent episode of the This Teenage Life podcast where Emily and Carrie were guests alongside teens who discussed their relationships with tech and social media. Listen to TTL's episode "Mental Gymnastics" on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or directly through the podcast website.
Adolescence is...
"Exploration," "A time of growth," "Emotional rollercoaster,""Like driving in the snow"
What words come to mind for you to finish the sentence “Adolescence is…”? That’s a question we often use to kick off our workshops; it’s a way to surface various assumptions and associations. Lately, we’ve been advocating hard for the pivot from “Assuming to Asking” when it comes to teens and tech. We’ve spent the past six months developing our first-ever online course PD for educators. It features a whole collection of game-changing mind shifts — or pivots — that will transform how you think about school policies, classroom teaching, and conversations with students about tech, social media, and more. We loved giving the content a live test-run at the recent Project Zero Summer Institute. To be in the know as soon as we release our new online course for educators this fall, sign up here or use the button below!
In the spirit of our Commi'grees, “together we are more” in this digital thriving community. We’d love to hear from you at: digitalthriving@gse.harvard.edu.
Until next month,
The Center for Digital Thriving
P.S. Check out a new essay collection on Youth Wellbeing in a Technology-Rich World — edited by Mizuko Ito from Connected Learning Lab and Center for Digital Thriving’s Carrie James. Now open for public review and comments using the button below.
