Dopamine and The Teenage Brain

What’s that? How are we doing? Well, it’s a “Nat gave herself an impromptu haircut” kind of week. So…does that answer your question? 😃

The Impact of Dopamine and Technology

One thing we know is true: teens love their phones. Maybe a little too much. In order to encourage our teens to have a healthy relationship with their technology, it’s important we understand why it seems like our teens are so addicted in the first place. The answer? It’s science! Specifically dopamine. Dopamine is a chemical messenger in the brain that greatly affects a person’s emotions and behaviors. It’s often referred to as the “feel-good” because it’s what gets released when we are experiencing something joyful.

What’s wrong with feeling joyful? Nothing, of course! But with dopamine, it’s a little more complicated. It’s not just about feeling good. When an action triggers a dopamine hit, the brain marks it as important and encourages you to do it again and again. This is great when it comes to developing positive habits and behaviors. But when the dopamine hits come too often and easily, people can end up engaging in unhealthy behaviors. For teens in particular, excessive digital dopamine stimulation can disrupt their brain patterns.

How can we help? Now that we know how dopamine works, we can share it with our teens. It’s important to frame it delicately. Don’t shame them, empower them with knowledge! You can say things like, ‘You’re not addicted to your phone, you are responding to how your brain was built. But you can take back control.” You can help them regain their control by modeling healthy tech habits yourself, creating screen-free zones and times in your household and encouraging real-world dopamine! That means getting out in the world to experience music, art, sporting events, going for a hike, hanging out with friends face-to-face– phones will never replace true human connection and experiences!

Cashless Culture and Teen Financial Literacy

Cash is retro. That feels insane to say! But to our teens, cash is a thing of the past. Everything is cashless now and while that might be convenient, it can also make it a little more difficult to teach our teens about managing their finances. According to Greenlight (a debit card/money designed for kids), teens spent $71 million at Amazon alone in 2024. Coming in second is a cool $45 million at DoorDash and lastly, $21 million at Sephora (we’re pretty sure our girls are responsible for about a quarter of that  😅). It’s a multifaceted issue but experts believe part of why we are seeing this massive uptick in tech-enabled convenience and lifestyle spending is due to a decrease in teens earning money during the summer. Put simply, teens will spend less money if they’re earning it themselves because they understand the value of a dollar. If money is put in their account every month without having worked for it, they’re more likely to blow through it. 

No one is advocating for teenagers to take on too much. They should still get to be kids! But there are so many manageable part-time jobs a teen could get, both in the summer and/or during the school year, that would teach them about how to manage their money and financial independence. Camp counselor, ice cream shop, fast-food, pet grooming, retail, babysitting gigs, mowing lawns…just to name a few! 

Diving Deeper Into Snapchat

Bad news: there are more apps for parents to worry about. But there’s also good news! We can help. Here’s the deal: teens are using what’s called vault apps – they are often disguised as calculators, photo albums or weather apps but they secretly store photos, messages and other content your teen doesn’t want you to see. First thing is first: check your teen’s phone for any apps that seem to stand out or look unfamiliar. Take a look at their settings for any hidden storage options. Be on the look out for popular Vault apps like Vaulty, Keepsafe and Calculator+. If your teen does have one of these apps, try and remain calm. It is absolutely not an indication of your failure as a parent. This is what teenagers do, they hide things from their parents. All you can do is empower yourself with knowledge and remain diligent in keeping your kid safe and informed. 

Need more tips for navigating the digital world? Check out our Screen Sense guide!

Who To Follow: Positive Influencers For Teens

Social media isn’t all doom and gloom. There are some huge positives that can come from it, especially for teens! We’ve decided to highlight one account per week that we think teens could benefit from following! 

Everybody needs a pep talk, especially our teen girls! Female collective serves as a digital hug–it reminds our girls that they are strong, talented, beautiful and exactly enough!