Parent/Guardian Series: The Teen Brain on Social Media and AI

Greenwood hosted several Greenwood Is: BELONGING & COMMUNITY Parent/Guardian Speaker Series events recently that focused on the teen brain and how it is impacted by social media and AI. These workshops included discussion on both the impacts of students’ social media and AI use, as well as strategies that parents/guardians and teachers can engage to help students use platforms responsibly. 

Most recently, Jake Ernst from Straight Up Health led a conversation for parents/guardians on teens’ mental health and AI. He explained how AI is based on algorithms that shape and impact the developing teen brain. He shared that teens need real-life social connections, which are essential to learning, engagement and resiliency. He was very supportive and complimentary of Greenwood’s efforts to keep our school phone free and provide learning experiences that require students to collaborate and think critically. 

In December, Greenwood welcomed Yoni Buckman from ConnectEd, who shared research and approaches to more deeply understand teens and their social media literacy. We learned that teens get most of their news from social media posts based on their preferences. Yoni shared many helpful approaches to support teens through supportive dialogue and modeling through our behaviors. In addition to the parent/guardian presentation, Yoni has worked with Greenwood teachers this year on how to help students find credible resources and research and how to use media sources effectively through social media literacy skills.

On January 21, we – along with Ryan Vachon, Director, Academics & Pluralism – presented an online overview of learnings from both Yoni Buckman and Jake Ernst. In this parent/guardian conversation, we discussed how we are applying what we know teens need to manage social media and AI use within the school. We also shared resources for parents and guardians.