Get ready to dive into the thrilling, stimulating and sometimes scary world the teenage head. A new documentary, “The Teen Brain,” produced by Goldie Hawn’s mental health-focused nonprofit organization MindUP, seeks to unravel the mysteries of the adolescent mind.
Emmy nominated director Tiffany Shlain and her team consulted top neuroscientists and interviewed several teenagers to gain insights into their unique experiences and perspectives, according to “Good Morning America.”
“We wanted to hear directly from teens — what do you want to know about your brain? What do you wish adults knew about you, of what you’re feeling?” Shlain told the network in an interview.
The documentary reveals the teenage brain is not just an immature, mini version of an adult brain, but rather a fascinating entity. For instance, the amygdala, the brain’s emotional processing center, grows and becomes more sensitive during adolescence, contributing to the intense emotions many teens experience. “Emotions feel so strong, and it’s so like, I’m upset in this moment and it’s hard to sort of see the bigger picture,” as one teen in the film described it.
Experts featured in the documentary emphasized the importance of understanding and appreciating the distinct qualities of the teenage brain. Ellen Galinsky, author of “The Breakthrough Years,” points out, “We’re using an adult yardstick to understand teenagers ... . And that really affects how we talk to them.”
The documentary comes at a critical time, when teenagers are facing a mental health crisis in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the influence of social media. In fact, in 2021, nearly one-third of high schoolers experienced poor mental health, and 1 in 5 reported considering suicide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
“The shift from childhood to adulthood is not a linear one. Adolescence is a time of wonderfully dynamic change in the brain,” BJ Casey, PhD, a professor of psychology who directs the Fundamentals of the Adolescent Brain Lab at Yale University, told the American Psychological Association. “Too often, we’ve superimposed an adult model onto a developing brain, but now we’re starting to see more nuanced findings.”
The 10-minute documentary is now available to watch for free online and promises to be an eye-opening and informative journey into the ever-evolving world of teenagers.
