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Many psychological scientists, including myself and my colleagues, have been <br /> asking this same question for years. We seek to understand how this new context <br /> in which youths' <br /> social interactions occur may be related to development, including potential <br /> benefits or risks that <br /> may be conferred by the online environment. <br /> As the discipline with expertise on all of human <br /> behavior, our work has been broad in scope; and to date, our focus has been on <br /> the adolescent <br /> period, during which more complex and mature behaviors are developed through <br /> intricate and <br /> precise interactions among neural, biological, social, contextual, and social <br /> systems. Today, <br /> although this remains a relatively nascent body of research, I would like to share <br /> what we know <br /> so far, so policymakers, educators, parents, caregivers, and youth can learn from <br /> what we are <br /> beginning to discover and make choices that will ensure the safety of youth. <br /> In this testimony, I outline emerging research with findings that have begun to <br /> suggest <br /> possible benefits, and as well as possible adverse effects of technology and <br /> social media use on <br /> adolescent development. I also present legislative and regulatory solutions that if <br /> enacted, would <br /> represent positive steps towards learning more about, and hopefully solving this <br /> problem. <br /> 8 <br />