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Social Media, Generative AI, and Youth Well-Being: Learning and Teaching for Digital Thriving
EDU T510A

Course Information

Description

Educators, policymakers, and designers are navigating a digital landscape engineered for attention and, increasingly, intimacy. Young people are disproportionately affected by these systems, yet their voices and insights are rarely centered. Rather than treating youth as puzzles to be solved, this course invites adults to interrogate their own assumptions, habits, and mindsets. Together we ask: What do we need to understand — about technology, market forces, and ourselves — to navigate these systems and guide others? What does the latest evidence really say (and not say) about technology's effects on young people? What are adults missing that teens most want us to know? And how can educators cultivate agency, equity, and empathy amid rapid technological change? Through fireside chats with experts, reflective design sprints, and data sense-making sessions, we will: (1) examine our own digital lives and assumptions, (2) gather insights from young people about their digital experiences, (3) explore evidence-based approaches to digital thriving, and (4) develop nuanced perspectives on how technology affects learning and connection.

Class Notes

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School Graduate School of Education
Credits 2
Cross Reg

Available for Harvard Cross Registration

Department Education
Course Component Lecture
Instruction Mode In Person
Subject Education
Grading Basis HGSE Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory
Learning Goals Decode how social media and AI platforms engineer attention and intimacy through design patterns and market incentives Develop critical digital literacy across three domains: technological systems, market forces, and human psychology Practice reflective self-examination of their own digital habits and assumptions Build capacity to hold complexity and nuance when discussing technology's effects Learn to truly "listen to see" young people's digital experiences beyond adult assumptions
Career Focus This course serves educators (K-12 and higher ed), educational technology specialists, school administrators, youth program directors, policy makers, EdTech designers, and researchers interested in youth and technology. It's particularly relevant for those who make decisions about technology use in learning environments or design digital experiences for young people