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Measuring effects of caffeine and melatonin on learning trends of Zebrafish juveniles

Wei et al. | Jun 28, 2026

Measuring effects of caffeine and melatonin on learning trends of Zebrafish juveniles

This study investigates how caffeine and melatonin affect learning in adolescent zebrafish, serving as a model for human teens. Using an automated system to track behavior, we found that melatonin slowed learning while caffeine caused erratic, inconsistent responses, suggesting both substances can negatively impact adolescent learning patterns. These findings highlight the need for further research into their physiological effects and potential implications for human adolescents.

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Changing electronic use behavior in adolescents while studying: An interventional psychology experiment

Kumar et al. | Mar 02, 2024

Changing electronic use behavior in adolescents while studying: An interventional psychology experiment
Image credit: RAMSHA ASAD

Here, the authors investigated the effects of an interventional psychology on the study habits of high school students specifically related to the use of electronic distractions such as social media or texting, listening to music, or watching TV. They reported varying degrees of success between the control and intervention groups, suggesting that the methods of habit-breaking for students merits further study.

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Effects of social support on adolescent identity development

Yim et al. | Nov 12, 2024

Effects of social support on adolescent identity development

Adolescence is a critical period for self-identity formation, heavily influenced by feedback from social networks. This research examined the interplay between social support from parents and peers and self-concept development in adolescents using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. While individual support from parents and peers did not directly impact self-concept, their combined interaction significantly influenced it, highlighting the importance of various social supports in fostering healthy self-concept development and overall adolescent well-being.

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Determining the Effects of Voice Pitch on Adolescent Perception, Subconscious Bias, and Marketing Success Using Electroencephalography

Guan et al. | Apr 28, 2021

Determining the Effects of Voice Pitch on Adolescent Perception, Subconscious Bias, and Marketing Success Using Electroencephalography

Voice pitch affects perceived authoritativeness, competency, and leadership capacity. In this study, the authors suggest that examining certain measures of brain activity collected using an affordable EEG could predict advertising effectiveness, which may be invaluable in future neuromarketing research. Understanding voice pitch and other factors that cause implicit bias may allow significant advances in marketing, facilitating business success.

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The effects of social media on STEM identity in adolescent girls

Sreekanth et al. | Mar 11, 2024

The effects of social media on STEM identity in adolescent girls
Image credit: Diane Serik

Social media is widely used and easily accessible for adolescents, it has the potential to increase STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) identity in girls. We aimed to investigate the effects of exposure to counter-stereotypical portrayals of women in STEM on social media on the STEM identity of adolescent girls. The study concluded that social media alone may not be an effective tool to increase STEM identity in girls. Social media can still be used as a complementary tool to support and encourage women in STEM, but it should not be relied upon solely to address the gender disparity in STEM fields.

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Reimagize – a digital card-based roleplaying game to improve adolescent girls’ body image

Kumar et al. | Oct 04, 2021

Reimagize – a digital card-based roleplaying game to improve adolescent girls’ body image

Reimagize, a role-playing with decision-making, was conjured, implementing social psychological concepts like counter-stereotyping and perspective-taking. As the game works implicitly to influence body image, it even counters image issues beyond personal body dissatisfaction. This study explored whether a digital role-playing card game, incorporating some of the most common prejudices of body image (like size prejudice, prejudices from the media, etc.) as identified by a digital survey/questionnaire completed by Indian girls aged 11-21, could counter these issues and reduce personal body dissatisfaction.

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Associations between fentanyl usage and social media use among U.S. teens

Sul et al. | Jun 10, 2025

Associations between fentanyl usage and social media use among U.S. teens
Image credit: freestocks

Here the authors aimed to understand factors influencing adolescent fentanyl exposure, hypothesizing a positive association between social media usage, socioeconomic factors, and fentanyl abuse among U.S. teens. Their analysis of the Monitoring the Future dataset revealed that a history of suspension and use of marijuana or alcohol were linked to higher fentanyl use, and while not statistically significant, a notable positive correlation between social media use and fentanyl frequency was observed.

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Exploring Political Discourse Among High School Journalists with Web Scraping and AI Technology

Gong et al. | Jun 10, 2025

Exploring Political Discourse Among High School Journalists with Web Scraping and AI Technology

Here the authors provided greater coverage of adolescent stances by investigating the political perspectives and trends of high school journalists, utilizing web scraping methods and artificial intelligence (ChatGPT-4o) to analyze over 153,000 articles. They found that high school publications exhibit lower levels of political polarization compared to mainstream media and that journalists' views, while tending to lean moderately liberal, showed no significant correlation with local voting patterns.

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