Research Exercise Clinicians and Adolescents: Using the Internet to Connect?

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You must read each slide, and complete any questions on the slide, in sequence.

Research Exercise

Clinicians and Adolescents: Using the Internet to Connect?

The Internet is readily available to most teenagers. In 2010 an updated Kaiser Family Foundation study, Generation M2, noted that 84 percent of youth age 8–18 had access to the Internet via smartphones, tablets, laptops, notebooks, game consoles, and any other gadget, (Rideout, Foeher, & Roberts, 2010). By connecting to the Internet, youth are inundated with a variety of resources and information. Recently, considerable attention has been given to whether this accessibility is a challenge or a fortuitous opportunity for clinicians working with adolescents. A great deal of the research focuses on the negative influences that the Internet and phone usage have on today’s youth, such as a decline in physical health, strained family relationships, and a decline in academic grades (Guan & Subrahmanyam, 2009). However, instead of focusing on the negative, how can we use this technological union to assist in communication between youth and mental health providers—in an effort to promote mental health treatment and services for today’s youth?

After reading the article, “Adolescents and the Internet: What Mental Health Clinicians Need to Know,” consider the questions below. Then submit your responses.

Guan, S. S. A., & Subrahmanyam, K. (2009). Youth Internet use: risks and opportunities. Current opinion in Psychiatry, 22(4), 351-356.

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Mobile technologies and mental health applications used by mental health clinicians have the potential to be more effective with adolescent populations because:

2 of 5

As of 2013, most adolescents with a Facebook account averaged:

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Since 2000, what has been the trend in daily Internet usage among adolescents?

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What factors are important for a mental health clinician to consider when recommending Internet-based or smartphone-based applications for treatment of an adolescent’s mental health?

One possible answer is the adolescent’s parents’ value system and their rules related to technology, and the adolescent’s access to Internet and phone.

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What are some potential dangers or risks in the use of mental health smart phone apps?

In addition to concerns related to privacy and confidentiality, risks could include that the apps lack standardization or regulation by an external entity such as the FDA; this lack may affect the overall quality of treatment.

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