The State of Modern Youth
Navigating Screens, Substances & Pressures
Virtual via Zoom
Fee: $10 full members; $25 partial members and nonmembers
Continuing Education Hours: 2.0
Course Description
In The State of Modern Youth: Navigating Screens, Substances & Pressures Dr. Collier draws on insights from her book Your Moves Matter and explores the unique landscape today's adolescents navigate—one shaped by constant digital connectivity, substances like marijuana and nicotine, pornography exposure, gambling opportunities, and unprecedented mental health challenges. She explained how teens make decisions through a neurodevelopmental lens, revealing why their brains respond differently under stress compared to adults. Her teen interns contributed firsthand perspectives on these pressures, creating an authentic dialogue that helped parents, caregivers, and educators better understand modern adolescence and respond with intentional, evidence-based strategies to support youth safety and healthy development.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the neuroscience of adolescent decision-making and how the developing brain responds uniquely to stress, peer influence, and high-risk opportunities in ways that differ fundamentally from adult processing.
- Identify current trends and pressures facing today's youth—including technology overuse, substance exposure (marijuana, vaping, alcohol), pornography, gambling, and mental health challenges—and recognize how these issues intersect and compound developmental vulnerabilities.
- Apply practical, prevention-focused strategies to engage adolescents in meaningful conversations, set appropriate boundaries, and create supportive environments that promote healthy brain development and reduce risk-taking behaviors.
About the Trainer
