Learn · TED

Talk13 min

What we're getting wrong about teens and tech

Candice Odgers · TED

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About

For years, the warning has been: smartphones are destroying a generation. But developmental psychologist Candice Odgers says that decades of data on teens tells a different story — violence, alcohol use and pregnancy are at historic lows, and research shows social media may not actually be the culprit for mental health problems. Hear her analysis of what’s really troubling kids these days, and why banning them from online spaces may make things worse.

The talk

  1. What we're getting wrong about teens and tech 13 min · TED's player

Credits and licence

Institution
TED
Department
TED2026
Speaker
Candice Odgers
Year
2026
Level
For everyone
Language
English
Subjects
Medicine and health
Source
TED
Licence
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, as TED states it. Non-commercial use only, and no changed versions. TED's terms
Attribution
TED Talks are licensed by TED under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 International and are shown here in TED's own player, as TED's usage policy asks.
Who can watch
TED gives no rating. Invisible Network shows it to Teens profiles and older, judged from what the source says about it. How courses are placed