How Technology, Social Media, and Current Events Profoundly Affect Adolescents

Book Title: How Technology, Social Media, and Current Events Profoundly

Affect Adolescents

Author: Mark A. Goldstein, Myrna Chandler Goldstein

Publication Details: Oxford University Press, 2024, 324 pp., $64.99 paperback

Digital connectivity, global events, and social media play a significant role in shaping the lives of today’s youth. As a result, family physicians are increasingly called upon to help families navigate these complex influences in adolescent development. How Technology, Social Media, and Current Events Profoundly Affect Adolescents offers a comprehensive, evidence-based overview of the challenges facing adolescents today. This book goes far beyond the topics mentioned in its title to offer physicians a broad understanding of the biological, psychological, and social determinants that affect adolescent health.

Organized into four main sections—biological issues, psychological issues, social issues, and current events—this book is structured for convenient clinical use. Each chapter within these sections provides an initial summary of a specific issue in adolescent development, examines relevant epidemiological factors, explores the contributing biopsychosocial factors, and offers guidance for families and clinicians regarding prevention and treatment. To reinforce the most important takeaways, each chapter ends with a short summary of the main points addressed.

This format is particularly well-suited for the needs of busy clinicians. Each chapter stands alone, allowing the book to serve as a reference for understanding specific patient or parental concerns. The content is well-supported, with hundreds of citations throughout, and can be a valuable resource for counseling patients and families about the impact of a wide range of issues on adolescent health and well-being. Additionally, the numerous studies, books, and articles cited serve as further reading suggestions for clinicians hoping to dive deeper into a specific topic.

The primary author, Dr. Mark Goldstein, chief emeritus of the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, has a clinical background that is evident throughout the book. These complex topics have been extensively researched by the authors and are presented in a way that allows for practical application in the clinical setting. Included is significant discussion of the relationships between the topics addressed and common adolescent health concerns, including anxiety, depression, substance use, and so forth, offering helpful guidance for identifying when certain screenings may be indicated for at-risk patients. Although some overlap exists between chapters, inevitable in a work that spans so many interrelated domains, this does not detract from the book’s readability.

For family physicians providing care to adolescents, How Technology, Social Media, and Current Events Profoundly Affect Adolescents serves as an evidence-based, timely resource. This book can allow clinicians to better understand how biological issues (eg, sleep, obesity, stress), psychological issues (eg, depression, anxiety, disordered eating), social issues (eg, problematic Internet use, bullying), and current events (eg, COVID-19, war) all affect adolescents. With evidence to support its assertions regarding outcomes and treatment, this book can be a valuable resource for counseling families and patients on a wide range of adolescent issues in primary care.