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The brains of adolescents are notoriously more receptive to short-term rewards and peer approval, which can lead to risky behavior. But researchers and educators are noticing that young people are also more sensitive to notions of social justice and autonomy. Teenage rebellion can be virtuous - even wholesome - depending on the situation. A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences finds that teenagers make wiser choices if they are encouraged to reimagine healthy behavior as an act of defiance.

Teenagers use text messaging more than any other mode of communication, so it may be hard to tell. But youngsters who check their phones continually, snap if you interrupt them and are so preoccupied with texting that they skip sleep and don't get their work done may be compulsive texters, a new study says. Overall, girls text compulsively at a far higher rate than boys do. And unlike girls, boys in the study who were compulsive texters were not at risk of doing poorly in school. Dr. Lister-Landman hypothesized that girls' texts may focus more on relationships and be more emotionally laden, causing them anxiety. Studies have shown that communicating by cellphone about problems or negative feelings is more common among young women than among men.

A link to the full study is embedded in the NYT article, but you can also find a .pdf of the full study on our course Canvas Page, Qtr. 1, Cycle 6, Resources for Cycle 6.

This article discusses the impact that social media has on youth. Because most modern teens are learning to do the majority of their communication while looking at a screen, not another person, they are missing out on the extremely critical social skills required for social situations. When you replace face-to-face interactions with screen-to-screen interactions, children do not learn the social cues such as body language, facial expression, and vocal reactions. The article discusses indirect communications, how to lower the risks of your child having bad social skills, how cyberbullying and the imposter syndrome affect teenagers, how stalking other people accounts can lower their self-esteem, and what parents can do to help. Experts worry that because social media and text messages have become so integral to teenage life, they are promoting anxiety and lowering self-esteem.

This article shares how the perceptions people have that teen slang and texting shortcuts are "ruining" the English language may not be true. It discusses a study that indicates language changes over the course of a lifetime rather than just during teenage years. Language evolves to fit the needs of each generation.

This article talks about how teenagers who are frequent texters also have poorer academic performance. Teenagers constantly check their phones, leading to less overall productivity, shorter attention spans, and less information retention.

This article provides information about the motivation, means, and methods of text messaging in young adults (11-21 years old).

Discusses how teenagers (especially girls) change language.

Developmentally, teens are at particular risk for reckless online behavior, including secrecy regarding social networking. Many people - adults and kids alike - view likes, loves, comments and followers as a barometer for popularity, even within a smaller, closed group. Teens can quickly get caught up in the feedback loop, posting and sharing images and videos that they believe will gain the largest reaction. Over time, teens' own values may become convoluted within an online world of instantaneous feedback, and their behavior online can become based on their "all about the likes" values rather than their real-life values. There is a very real biological basis for this behavior. The combination of social media pressure and an underdeveloped prefrontal cortex, the region of the brain that helps us rationalize decisions, control impulsivity and make judgments, can contribute to offensive online posts. In a recent study, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, found that the areas of teens' brains focused on reward processing and social cognition are similarly activated when they think about money and sex - and when they view a photo receiving lots of likes on social media. When teens viewed photos deemed risky, researchers found the brain regions focused on cognitive control were not activated as much, suggesting that it could be harder for them to make good decisions when viewing images or videos that are graphic in nature.

The year 2015 could be called the year of the emoji. They have landed a teenage boy in a police cell and prompted Vladimir Putin's wrath in Russia, and the loveable smiley faces are even set to come to life in their own Hollywood film.

Emoji are already butting their heads with traditional words, but could they take over completely? The year 2015 could be called the year of the emoji. They have landed a teenage boy in a police cell and prompted Vladimir Putin's wrath in Russia, and the loveable smiley faces are even set to come to life in their own Hollywood film.

Though smartphones seem ubiquitous in daily life, they are actually so new that researchers are just beginning to understand what the devices may do to the brain. Researchers say phones and social media not only serve a primitive need for connection but can also create powerful feedback loops. "People are carrying around a portable dopamine pump, and kids have basically been carrying it around for the last 10 years," said David Greenfield, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and founder of The Center for Internet and Technology Addiction.

This article explains why teenagers are, in fact, not affecting the evolution of language as drastically as we initially thought.

As language evolves and new terms enter the mainstream, teenagers are often blamed for debasing linguistic standards. In some cases, their preferred forms of communication-like text messaging-are attacked. But, teens don't actually influence language as much as is often claimed. That's one of the key findings in the latest linguistic research by Mary Kohn, an assistant professor of English at Kansas State University. How much a person's vernacular changes over time may have as much to do with personality and social standing as it has to do with age. The extent to which teenagers are credited with (or blamed for) driving lasting change to language is, she says, "grossly overstated." The same factors that prompt teens to experiment with new language are applicable to people at many stages of life.

This article is essentially explaining that teens aren't the main cause for a dramatic change in our language but actually innovators bringing in new words into our daily vocabulary. It also says that everybody can change language, as some words become "dated" and others don't. Teens aren't the only ones to blame for modern lingo.

This article considers sarcasm to be "the highest form of intelligence" because it symbolizes an individuals flexible and creative mind. Through research done by psychologist and neuroscientists, it has been found that the usage of sarcasm actually requires more brain power to interpret than a literary statement. This is supported by the fact that young children don't understand sarcasm while teenagers are able to fully utilize it.

How Students Literacy Affected by Texting

A machine learning algorithm analyses verbal and non-verbal cues It could correctly identify if someone is suicidal with 93% accuracy Researchers incorporated the algorithm into an app trialed in schools By recording conversations and analysing cues such as pauses and sighs, it could help to flag those most at risk of taking their own life Researchers are developing an app which could help to prevent suicides by flagging those most at risk.

Is it better to fit in or stand out? That question has vexed all of us at one time or another, from teenagers to aspiring executives to sociologists. The answer, says Stanford Graduate School of Business professor Amir Goldberg: It depends.