Why the Teenage Brain Isn’t a Bad Thing

The teenage brain is often thought of as a negative thing. Susceptible to risk-taking, addiction, and peer pressure, teen brains often get into trouble. However, there are many strengths of the teenage brain, and adolescents thrive when they are surrounded by people who see their strengths and encourage them. 

A 2018 study found that teens are affected by how adults think about them. After a setback, teens who think that adults view them positively bounce back, but teens who think that adults view them negatively fall into negative risk-taking behaviors. When teens are told that all adolescents act negatively, it turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy – teens tend to do what adults expect of them. 

Adolescents are prone to risk-taking behavior because their brains are still developing. As the brain develops, it forms connections. The frontal lobe, our decision-making center, is the last part of the brain to experience connectivity. This means that teen emotions are strong, and decision-making is weak. Strong emotions aren’t always a bad thing – if adults feel emotion in black and white, teens feel them in color. This gives them a unique perspective of the world, even if it encourages them to act based on feelings instead of long-term consequences. 

Risk-taking is actually a teen strength. Adolescents face many uncertainties and must take a number of risks as they age from childhood into adulthood. This includes getting a driver’s license, applying for a first job, making friends at a new school, and applying to colleges or trade schools. In fact, risk-taking is essential to healthy development into an adult. 

The fact that the teen brain is still developing also means that they excel at learning. The teen brain is plastic, or changeable, easily learning new things and adapting in new ways. Their capacity for learning is high because they have more synapses, or connections, in their brains. This means that teenagers are susceptible to addiction, because addiction is the process of learning an unhealthy reward pathway. However, it also means that no teen is a lost cause, because their brains are still capable of significant change.  

Tell the teens in your life that their still-developing brains can help them thrive during these years. Encourage them to take healthy risks and learn new things. Parents must also warn their adolescents about the dangers of having a developing brain, but not without first acknowledging their strengths. Remember, teens are affected by the way adults think of them. Bypass the bias associated with adolescence and let your teen know that you expect them to succeed.