Behind Their Screens

What Teens Are Facing (and Adults Are Missing)

De: Emily Weinstein, Carrie James

Narrado por: Emily Weinstein

How teens navigate a networked world and how adults can support them

What are teens actually doing on their smartphones? Contrary to many adults’ assumptions, they are not simply “addicted” to their screens, oblivious to the afterlife of what they post, or missing out on personal connection. They are just trying to navigate a networked world. In Behind Their Screens, Emily Weinstein and Carrie James, Harvard researchers who are experts on teens and technology, explore the complexities that teens face in their digital lives, and suggest that many adult efforts to help—“Get off your phone!” “Just don’t sext!”—fall short.

Weinstein and James warn against a single-minded focus by adults on “screen time.” Teens worry about dependence on their devices, but disconnecting means being out of the loop socially, with absence perceived as rudeness or even a failure to be there for a struggling friend. Drawing on a multiyear project that surveyed more than 3,500 teens, the authors explain that young people need empathy not exasperated eye-rolling. Adults should understand the complicated nature of teens’ online life rather than issue commands, and they should normalize—let teens know that their challenges are shared by others—without minimizing or dismissing. Along the way, Weinstein and James describe different kinds of sexting and explain such phenomena as watermarking nudes, comparison quicksand, digital pacifiers, and collecting receipts. Behind Their Screens offers essential listening for any adult who cares about supporting teens in an online world.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Emily Weinstein and Carrie James (P)2022 Blackstone Publishing

Must-read for parents of teens

This fascinating, well-researched, and insightful book is a must-read for parents of teens that will generate productive and important discussions. It was written by two leading experts on social media use and adolescent development. Although I am myself a psychologist and researcher in this field, I learned a great deal of new information and perspectives. Rather than relying on scare tactics or oversimplified perspectives, the authors center youth voices in their nuanced discussion of teens’ experiences with social media. The result is a unique, timely, and much-needed piece. The audiobook is read by author Emily Weinstein and is highly engaging.

Relatability

As a 15-year-old boy I actually grew to love this book. It is extremely relatable and everything said in the book is extremely accurate to be quite fair.

Eye-opening!

This book was eye-opening and perspective-shifting. I am hoping that it will help me to be more empathetic, compassionate, and a better listener to my son.

Must read for parents!

Very valuable and hopefully will make me a better parent listener to my teen boys

Could have been a 1 hour podcast

Could also have been a short article on a site like medium.com. It was good to learn some terminology and to hear their point of view, but I felt like I was reading a research paper.

Teens need a template

Teens need guidance on how to handle specific situations they encounter on social media. This would be much like a book for parents on parenting (ie, Untangled). Or classes in the schools? Teach the kids to diffuse this and stop the mental anguish.

Narrator’s vocal fry is annoying

This book is annoying to listen to because of the narrator’s valley girl vocal fry. The content is important and I will be reading other books on teenagers online experiences.

Warning before you buy

The book is about one teen-survey findings. Most of the reading contains what different teens statements and middle/high school stories. Is it ethical to sell what teens' saying to profit the reachers? The research is sponsored by Common Sense Media, It is an organization funded by donors like the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. It is not surprising that the book leaves readers an impression that social media is necessary for teens and limiting their access won't work. The very last 30 minutes of the book talk about what to do to help such as normalizing and minimalizing. I have no idea--- too dogmatic and nothing practical!
You and your children will learn more about social media by watching 2hrs documentary film Social Dilemma on YouTube for free.