Teens & Tech | Dr. Jean Twenge

About this episode

Dr. Jean Twenge discusses the impact of technology on children and teens, including social media addiction and mental health issues.

Parenting today often feels like an uphill battle, with technology invading every corner of our kids’ lives. From the rise of social media addiction to the growing mental health crisis among children and teens, parents are grappling with how they can create a healthy, balanced relationship with technology for their kids. In this interview, Dr. Jean Twenge draws on her decades as a psychologist studying the impact of technology and mental health and her personal experience as the mother of three teenagers. She describes how technology is harming children and how that harm has grown in recent years. She goes on to describe the damage to the minds of teens caused by social media usage, video gaming, and pornography consumption. She shares how she'd like lawmakers to regulate tech usage among teens and younger children. Dr. Twenge also shares the risks AI companions pose to teen development and, drawing from her book 10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High-Tech World , she provides guidance for ways in which parents and teachers can help raise independent, well-rounded children in a tech-centric world. Dr. Jean M. Twenge, Professor of Psychology at San Diego State University, is the…

People in this episode

Guest: Dr Jean Twenge

Topics covered

• parenting
• technology
• mental health
• social media
• teen development

Keywords

• social media
• video gaming
• pornography
• AI companions
• independent children

Mentioned in this episode

Products: iGen, 10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High-Tech World

Books & works: 10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High-Tech World, Generations, Generation Me, Today, Good Morning America, Real Time with Bill Maher, Fox and Friends, Dateline NBC, BA, Ph.D.

More episodes of 12 Geniuses Podcast

• A Navy SEAL's Guide to Raising Confident & Joyful Children · May 12, 2026 · 39 min
• Identic AI’s Productivity Explosion | Don Tapscott & Joseph Bradley · April 8, 2026 · 42 min
• Generative AI: Anxiety & Ethics | Dr. Andrea Bonime-Blanc · March 9, 2026 · 41 min
• Is Work Worth Saving? | Dr. Ben Zweig · February 9, 2026 · 34 min
• Creating Dignity at Work | Bob Chapman · January 9, 2026 · 45 min
• The Psychology of Leadership | Sébastien Page · December 10, 2025 · 47 min