In “Behind Their Screens: What Teens Are Facing (and Adults Are Missing),” Emily Weinstein and Carrie James from the Harvard School of Education attempt to show adults how teens spend their time online and feel about their screen use. What teenagers like me usually hear is an oversimplified take along the lines of “screens are bad for you” or “a waste of time.” This book is not that. To a 16-year-old, this book felt refreshingly in touch with the teenagers of today.
Weinstein and James clearly did their research. Their conclusions are based on interviews with teens trying to understand what growing up in the digital world of today is really like. Each chapter ends in a section they call “teens want adults to know.” Because of the focus on actual teen voices, much of the book reads like a message from young people to adults in the best way possible. The book feels informed and accurate and is filled with information that I wish more adults understood. Not only does it feel accurate, but it feels up to date with the constantly changing digital landscape. The book talks about things like Instagram “tea” pages (gossip accounts for specific schools or social circles); these details give it more credibility.
Much of the book is spent discussing social media and its impact on teenagers. In my lived experience, many adults simply wring their hands or scapegoat social media, blaming it for everything from social isolation to eating disorders. Because of this, I didn’t expect this book to so accurately portray teens’ real-world experiences with social media. Because they took so many teen voices into consideration and listened to what real teens had to say about these issues, the authors are able to understand and convey the complexities of teens’ digital lives with respect and nuance. The authors actually give teens the credit they deserve instead of assuming teens are blind or naive about screen use and social media.
In the chapter titled “The pull of the screen,” the authors focus on how much time teens spend on their devices (a common cause of conflict in many homes). Unlike most other responses to this question, the authors don’t place all of the blame on the teenagers themselves. They acknowledge that many apps, like TikTok, that are popular with teens are designed to be addicting and prey on the psychology of teens. The authors acknowledge that many teens don’t actually want to spend as much time on screens as they do but that it can be difficult to stop for many reasons, such as not wanting to accidentally ignore people or feeling left out of the loop if they aren’t on social media: “Adults assume teens want constant connection and, while on some level they might, they can also feel stuck between craving moments of off-the-grid time and wanting to avoid ‘hurting people’s feelings.’ ”
Rather than just the negatives of screen use, the book also focuses on the positive aspects of social media and screens. It shows the meaningful ways teens are able to connect through social media — with online study groups, staying in touch with friends, and finding peer support for any issue one might be dealing with.
As a teen who is immersed in much of what this book talks about, little of it felt revelatory, but “Behind Their Screens” adds a new and important voice to the conversation around teenagers and the ways we interact with our screens. It’s a helpful guide for any parent constantly arguing with their teens about screens, people who feel that social media is “running the new generation” and anyone who wants to know more about how the modern digital age is affecting young people.
Behind Their Screens: What Teens Are Facing (and Adults Are Missing)
By Emily Weinstein and Carrie James
(The MIT Press; 240 pages; $27.95)