At the Mercy of Facebook

Abstract

This chapter is a meta-analysis of teen brain research and social media technology such as Facebook that could result in spiraling rates of teenage pregnancy. The author discusses contemporary theories of brain circuitry including teen brain structure and function as one of the plausible reasons for rising teenage pregnancy rates. The author argues that the challenge is to control the quality and influence of Facebook on teen behaviors, actions, and decisions to minimize the growing influence of social networking sites. In the conclusive section of the chapter, the author focuses on the expansion and extension of instructional and non-instructional physical activities, exergames, and active video games strategies to control the quality and influence of Facebook content by presenting research that advocates use of such activities and games within the Facebook interface. The author ends the chapter by mapping a future research direction of cross-cultural empirical investigation. The author wraps the chapter with a summative conclusion.