Latest news with #EmmaDuerden
11-08-2025
- Science
AI and social media are everywhere in teens' lives. Can they impact cognitive skills?
Adam Davidson-Harden is admittedly a latecomer to appreciating William Shakespeare, but the Ontario high school teacher now likens studying the Bard to lifting weights, for language. He said he worries that mental muscles aren't getting a workout these days if students lean on shortcuts like generative artificial intelligence for schoolwork. When Davidson-Harden queried a student about a recent assignment on The Tempest that included a non-existent quote, the student admitted to using GenAI to avoid the messy and slower process of sifting through the play, the English and social studies teacher from Kingston, Ont., said. That student lost a valuable opportunity, he said: engaging with the content, formulating an opinion, finding support for their perspective and stringing together sentences to express it. If students or teachers overrely on GenAI to perform tasks that involve thinking critically for them ... they're losing an opportunity to improve their skills and to think creatively. Technology is an integral part of schooling today, but when students use ChatGPT to complete assignments or scroll TikTok to research topics, what's happening to their cognitive skills? Concern that dependency on technologies like generative AI and social media will impact young people's thinking and development has some educators urging caution. In schools, foundational opportunities to mess around with language and think and react and explore should be insulated, Davidson-Harden said. An early adopter of educational technology who now teaches online, he said certain tools have been beneficial, yet we've now reached a point where ... bland technology acceptance is maybe not the right move. 'Difficulty with focus and concentration' Childhood is a sensitive period of development where we're gaining a lot of foundational skills, said Emma Duerden, an associate professor in the faculty of education at Western University in London, Ont., and Canada Research Chair in Neuroscience and Learning Disorders. When we spend large amounts of time doing something — whether it's playing tennis or studying German — it influences our thinking and behaviour, she said. Enlarge image (new window) Neuroscience researcher Emma Duerden, an associate professor at Western University, is seen with students conducting an experiment examining brain responses to social media videos. Photo: Submitted by Emma Duerden If you're scrolling social media apps for three, eight or even 12 hours a day — as some Western students admitted to in response to a recent study by Duerden's team (new window) — it can be a problem for young brains. We're seeing university-age kids that are having difficulty with focus and concentration because they're always used to scrolling and to getting information quite rapidly, she said. Endless social scrolling — including split screens that jam ever more content into frames — could be considered similar to the divided attention brought on by multitasking, Duerden said. WATCH | Why teens can struggle with cutting down on social media: Doing two or three things all at the same time, where people have the psychological impression that they're getting more done ... is associated with high levels of mental fatigue, she said. Multitasking triggers the release of reward chemicals in the brain — one of which is dopamine. Too much can in turn lead to a kind of state of confusion [and] brain fog, Duerden said. Long-term multitasking is actually associated with cognitive difficulties later on. Social media can benefit students by making connections or exposing them to new content or ideas, the researcher said, but she urges keen attention to its overuse, which can lead to harmful effects like increased anxiety (new window) . GenAI is another technology the education community is grappling with, as enterprising students flock to it and educators seek guidance and training, while researchers explore whether the convenience it allows for can impact the development of critical thinking (new window) or have consequences on recall and other cognitive activity (new window) . Cognitive offloading — using an external aid to support an internal process, like scribbling a shopping list on a piece of paper instead of remembering it — isn't new, but the use of GenAI to do so is being hotly debated. When offloading, the idea is you free up mental resources to be redirected elsewhere, but there can be costs. What if, for instance, you lose that slip of paper or the GPS directing your driving route loses its connection? WATCH | Teachers seek direction on how to use AI in the classroom: Replacing skills with a tool can mean losing them For those kinds of skills that require that kind of intentional effort to develop and maybe even practise, replacing those activities with a tool may put us in a position where we're not developing [them], said Evan Risko, a professor in the University of Waterloo's psychology department and Canada Research Chair in Embodied and Embedded Cognition. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, Risko said, since offloading may result in losing some cognitive skills, but it paves the way to developing new ones. What's key, however, is how that newly freed-up mental capacity is used. The hope is that our students can use [GenAI applications] productively ... and use them in a critical manner, right? To think hard about what the tool is doing well and what the tool is not doing so well. Joel Heng Hartse, a senior lecturer in the faculty of education at Simon Fraser University who leads a program teaching new students academic reading and writing, said he believes educators must underline how GenAI actually works and let a student know, 'Hey, this isn't like a fact machine. This is a probability machine,' he said from Burnaby, B.C. While he said it too early to tell if ChatGPT and its ilk have impacted young minds or learning capabilities, his students have nonetheless shared that they feel lazier now because they know they can take shortcuts with AI, he said. If more students turn to GenAI for writing, Heng Hartse worries about a flattening of opinions as fewer students practise expressing their unique voice, which he considers the very point of learning to write, read through texts and construct arguments to support one's views. WATCH | Perfect papers aren't what this writing teacher wants to see: In academia, we want friction. We want struggling with difficult things. So are [students] losing their abilities to do these things? I think they're making choices — some of them — to not develop those skills, he said. Like Ontario teacher Davidson-Harden, Heng Hartse also used a weight-training analogy for emphasis. If the goal is the weights need to be lifted, you can do that or a weightlifting robot can do that, he said. But if the goal is for you to develop and to build muscle and for you to work on your fitness, the robot lifting the weights did the thing, but there was absolutely no benefit to you. Jessica Wong (new window) · CBC News · Senior Digital Writer Based in Toronto, Jessica Wong covers Canadian education stories for CBC News. In a past life, she covered national and international arts and entertainment news. You can reach her at
CBC
11-08-2025
- Health
- CBC
Why teens can find it tough to stop scrolling their socials
Emma Duerden, a Western University associate professor and Canada Research Chair in Neuroscience and Learning Disorders, outlines how social media really taps straight into teens' developing brains.
Perth Now
10-06-2025
- Health
- Perth Now
Passive scrolling causes teens' risk of anxiety and depression to increase
Two hours of passive scrolling can increase teenagers' risks of anxiety and depression. Neuroscientists studied 580 youngsters - who told them if they had pre-existing mental health conditions, their levels of anxiety, as well as if they had emotional and behavioural difficulties - for nine months. The time the teens spent looking at their devices, as well as their screen-use behaviours were also examined. The experts found 45 per cent of the 12 to 17-year-olds - who said they had no pre-existing mental health conditions - had psychiatric symptoms. Professor Emma Duerden, Canada's research chair in neuroscience and learning disorders, is quoted by MailOnline as saying: "This is really surprising. "It is much higher than we would expect to see. Before Covid, rates of anxiety in adolescents were between 8 and 15 per cent. Now, we see almost half of the sample size reporting heightened anxiety, which is alarming." She encouraged parents to limit their child's screen time to two hours or less a day because it would improve their wellbeing. Professor Duerden added: "In past studies, we've shown some teens reporting 15 hours of screen time a day. They wake up, go on a screen and stay the whole day. "This is a critical period for brain and behavioural development, including emotional regulation and impulse control."
Economic Times
10-06-2025
- Health
- Economic Times
Is doomscrolling quietly damaging teen brains? Scientists warn it is more than just a waste of time
Scientists have revealed that excessive passive scrolling, or doomscrolling, is severely impacting teenage mental health. Teens glued to screens for over two hours daily showed dramatic increases in anxiety, depression, and impulsivity. With nearly half needing medical evaluation despite no prior issues, researchers urge parents to limit screen time and promote physical activity to protect developing adolescent brains. A new study warns that doomscrolling for more than two hours a day can double teens' risk of anxiety and quadruple their risk of depression. (Representational image: iStock) Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads From Habits to Harm: What the Study Found Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Researchers found that 45% of adolescents displayed psychiatric symptoms within nine months, highlighting how passive screen use is quietly fuelling a mental health crisis among youth during a critical stage of brain development. (Representational image: iStock) A Generation at Risk—and a Warning for Parents Beyond the Screen: The Fight to Reclaim Attention It may seem like harmless downtime—hours spent scrolling through social media feeds, mindlessly consuming content. But neuroscientists are sounding the alarm: for adolescents, this habit known as " doomscrolling " isn't just killing time—it could be harming their mental health in dangerous and lasting to a report from the Daily Mail, a new study has revealed that teens who spend more than two hours a day scrolling on phones or tablets double their risk of developing anxiety and are four times more likely to show signs of depression. The findings, published after a nine-month-long study of 580 adolescents, paint a sobering picture of how digital habits are quietly reshaping the emotional landscape of an entire research team, led by Professor Emma Duerden, Canada's Research Chair in Neuroscience and Learning Disorders , focused on adolescents aged 12 to 17 with no prior mental health diagnoses. Shockingly, by the end of the study, 45 percent of participants displayed psychiatric symptoms significant enough to warrant further medical evaluation."This is really surprising," said Prof Duerden. "Before COVID-19, rates of anxiety in adolescents were between 8 and 15 percent. Now, we see almost half of the sample reporting heightened anxiety, which is alarming."The study tracked not just the amount of screen time, but also the way it was used—whether teens were actively posting, chatting, or simply scrolling. It was the passive form of engagement, the relentless scroll of content without interaction—what's commonly called doomscrolling—that showed the strongest negative impact on mental comes against the backdrop of a worsening youth mental health crisis . NHS data from the UK shows that over 20 percent of children aged 8 to 16 had a probable mental health disorder in 2023—a sharp rise from 13 percent in Duerden emphasized that adolescence is a critical period for brain development, especially in areas governing emotion regulation and impulse control. "In past studies, we've seen teens report as much as 15 hours of daily screen time. They wake up, go on a screen, and stay on all day," she screen time to under two hours a day, while encouraging physical activity, is among the most effective ways to support adolescent well-being. But as any modern parent knows, the solution is easier said than new research doesn't just highlight the mental health dangers of digital overuse—it also signals a cultural crisis in how we engage with technology. Doomscrolling thrives on algorithms built for endless engagement, yet teens are increasingly paying the price in anxiety, depression, impulsiveness, and even question now isn't just how much time young people spend on their screens—but how that time is shaping their minds. As doomscrolling becomes a daily ritual for millions, scientists and parents alike are urging a rethink of what we consider "normal" digital behaviour.
Time of India
10-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Is doomscrolling quietly damaging teen brains? Scientists warn it is more than just a waste of time
It may seem like harmless downtime—hours spent scrolling through social media feeds, mindlessly consuming content. But neuroscientists are sounding the alarm: for adolescents, this habit known as " doomscrolling " isn't just killing time—it could be harming their mental health in dangerous and lasting ways. According to a report from the Daily Mail , a new study has revealed that teens who spend more than two hours a day scrolling on phones or tablets double their risk of developing anxiety and are four times more likely to show signs of depression. The findings, published after a nine-month-long study of 580 adolescents, paint a sobering picture of how digital habits are quietly reshaping the emotional landscape of an entire generation. From Habits to Harm: What the Study Found The research team, led by Professor Emma Duerden, Canada's Research Chair in Neuroscience and Learning Disorders , focused on adolescents aged 12 to 17 with no prior mental health diagnoses. Shockingly, by the end of the study, 45 percent of participants displayed psychiatric symptoms significant enough to warrant further medical evaluation. "This is really surprising," said Prof Duerden. "Before COVID-19, rates of anxiety in adolescents were between 8 and 15 percent. Now, we see almost half of the sample reporting heightened anxiety, which is alarming." The study tracked not just the amount of screen time, but also the way it was used—whether teens were actively posting, chatting, or simply scrolling. It was the passive form of engagement, the relentless scroll of content without interaction—what's commonly called doomscrolling—that showed the strongest negative impact on mental well-being. You Might Also Like: 'What a magical thing that is': Carl Sagan's wise words on reading books are the fresh breeze we need amid digital brain rot iStock Researchers found that 45% of adolescents displayed psychiatric symptoms within nine months, highlighting how passive screen use is quietly fuelling a mental health crisis among youth during a critical stage of brain development. (Representational image: iStock) A Generation at Risk—and a Warning for Parents This comes against the backdrop of a worsening youth mental health crisis . NHS data from the UK shows that over 20 percent of children aged 8 to 16 had a probable mental health disorder in 2023—a sharp rise from 13 percent in 2017. Prof Duerden emphasized that adolescence is a critical period for brain development, especially in areas governing emotion regulation and impulse control. "In past studies, we've seen teens report as much as 15 hours of daily screen time. They wake up, go on a screen, and stay on all day," she said. Limiting screen time to under two hours a day, while encouraging physical activity, is among the most effective ways to support adolescent well-being. But as any modern parent knows, the solution is easier said than done. Beyond the Screen: The Fight to Reclaim Attention This new research doesn't just highlight the mental health dangers of digital overuse—it also signals a cultural crisis in how we engage with technology. Doomscrolling thrives on algorithms built for endless engagement, yet teens are increasingly paying the price in anxiety, depression, impulsiveness, and even aggression. You Might Also Like: How 'doomscrolling' before bed is wrecking your health? New study confirms our fears The question now isn't just how much time young people spend on their screens—but how that time is shaping their minds. As doomscrolling becomes a daily ritual for millions, scientists and parents alike are urging a rethink of what we consider "normal" digital behaviour. You Might Also Like: What is 'zombie scrolling' and why it is more dangerous than 'doom scrolling'? Expert reveals
