Behind Their Screens

BEHIND THEIR SCREENS by Emily Weinstein and Carrie James is subtitled “What Teens Are Facing (and Adults Are Missing).”  The text is a fascinating look at the research these two social scientists have been conducting since 2017 with teens and young adults about social media use. Each chapter (e.g., “The Pull of the Screen,” “Friendship Dilemmas,” “Digital Footprints”) begins with a relevant story; they add additional comments from teens, explain some pertinent research, and end with the [often too brief] synopsis of what teens want adults to know. Roughly twenty percent of the text is devoted to references and notes, organized by chapter.  Affiliated with Harvard Project Zero, these authors are extremely familiar with thinking and reflection exercises such as “I used to think …. Now I think ….” They offer example statements from teens and from readers, but a significant one for me was their own reflection: “we used to think adults would benefit from learning more about teens’ digital experiences; now, we think teens need opportunities to hear about each other’s experiences, too.” That thought – how much students I know would want to hear about this research with other teens – definitely crossed my mind, too. I hope that the new Library copy of BEHIND THEIR SCREENS will be used to develop some ideas to share in advisory/homeroom or in health classes. The final section on digital agency could make a useful discussion prompt.

I know that students, educators and parents have high interest in this complex topic. They can hear from the authors directly during a Zoom presentation coordinated by Family Action Network. The session will be held on Tuesday, September 20, beginning at 7pm. Register HERE.