Digital Dynamics in Adolescence: Assisting Teens with Connection, Friendship, and Dating in the Social-Technological Age
- Speaker:
- Steven O'Brien, PsyD
- Duration:
- 1 Hour 30 Minutes
- Format:
- Audio and Video
- Copyright:
-
Aug 06, 2026
- Product Code:
- POS150904
- Media Type:
- Digital Seminar
Description
Teens are forming identity, connection, and confidence in an online world that shifts faster than adults can track. Social media, texting patterns, digital intimacy, and peer comparison all shape how they bond, how they see themselves, and how they navigate friendships and early romantic relationships.
Takeaways include:
- Patterns of digital communication shaping teen connection
- Signals of unhealthy online influence on mood, self‑worth, and friendship dynamics
- Frameworks for supporting safe exploration of digital‑age dating
- Relatable language for explaining online pressure, comparison, and emotional overload
- Tools for strengthening boundaries, digital balance, and real‑world social skills
Come explore a clear roadmap for understanding digital‑era stressors, supporting healthy social development, and guiding teens toward safer, more grounded online‑to‑offline interactions.
Credit
Speaker
Steven O'Brien, PsyD Related seminars and products
Steve O’Brien, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist with over 30 years of experience working with children, adolescents, young adults, and families in his Clearwater, Florida practice. He is a respected national consultant for mental health professionals seeking guidance on the treatment of anxiety and mood disorders, ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorders, and adjustment challenges in divorced and blended families.
Since 2017, Dr. O’Brien has provided continuing education and professional training for mental health clinicians, focusing on evidence-based interventions for anxiety, depression, and neurodevelopmental disorders in youth. He is the author of The Essential Guide to Treating Childhood and Adolescent Anxiety, a clinical manual designed to enhance treatment outcomes.
His integrative-systems approach combines CBT, interpersonal techniques, and exposure/desensitization strategies, all tailored to the developmental needs of young clients and their families. Intensive parent consultation—emphasizing psychoeducation, communication skills, and behavior modification—is a cornerstone of his therapeutic work.
Dr. O’Brien has worked in numerous healthcare environments, including community mental health, psychiatric, inpatient/residential, substance abuse, and medical facilities. He also served as associate professor of child-adolescent studies at the Florida School of Professional Psychology. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. O’Brien is an app developer (Life@Home by Psychtouch.com) and a frequent guest on local news outlets for his expertise on childhood anxiety. Visit obrienpsychology.com for more information.
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Steven O'Brien maintains a private practice. He receives a speaking honorarium, recording and book royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Steven O’Brien is a member of the American Psychological Association and the Florida Psychological Association.
Additional Info
Access for Self-Study (Non-Interactive)Access never expires for this product.
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Objectives
- Identify the social-emotional challenges adolescents experience when using major social-technological platforms within their peer relationships.
- Summarize current research on how social media, apps, and AI tools influence adolescent social behavior, identify development, and emotional wellbeing.
- Utilize therapeutic strategies from cognitive-behavioral, interpersonal, and humanistic approaches – modified for adolescents – to address social-emotional distress related to digital and online interactions.
Outline
Popular Social Media Platforms and Uses
- YouTube - Entertainment and Information
- TikTok - Continuous Daily “In-the-know” usage
- Instagram - Sharing Photos and following creators
- Snapchat - Private message texting alternative
Secondary Platforms and Uses
- WhatsApp - Increasing communication/texting app
- Discord - Popular for gaming
- BeReal - “Authentic, spontaneous” communication
- Reddit - Interest/Niche-based community comments
Emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- AI Chatbots - relational/companion-like and “romantic connection"
- Chat GPT - Academics, creativity, social-emotional, communication assistance
- Potential Perks and Pitfalls
The Psychology of Teens Social Media Usage
- Facilitates expression, friendships and dating
- Feels required for acceptance and being “in-the-know”
- Enhances experiences of FOMO and false urgency
- Fuels intense social comparison, anxiety and depression
- Promotes and Impedes identity development
Effective Therapeutic Strategies AND What to Avoid
- Rapport-building: How to “join” teens in their online life
- Support and Psychoeducation: Balancing validation with guidance
- Structure and Intention: Tech- Centered Cognitive-Behavioral Strategies
- Social Anxiety and Depression: Exposure/desensitization, and interpersonal Approaches
- Limitations of the research and potential risks
Target Audience
- Psychologists
- Social Workers
- Counselors
- Marriage & Family Therapists
- Occupational Therapists
- Physicians
- Speech-Language Pathologists
- School Administrators
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