Tech's Impact On Young Brains | America Inside Out with Katie Couric

As more young people like David pull up in their rooms with their devices, studies show a generation delaying adulthood. Fewer get driver's licenses, have after-school jobs, or date. But most alarming, the suicide rate for girls ages 15 to 19 doubled between 2007 and 2015.

Dr. Larry Rosen, a leading psychologist, is especially concerned about what all this tech is doing to developing brains. "We know what the blue light does to their brain. Night after night, it leaves these little molecules called beta-amyloid, and they build into plaques. When they look at the brains of Alzheimer's patients, they have a lot of plaque in their brains. I think that we're heading toward a major problem. As these kids have been using phones for the last ten years, start to get into their 20s, 30s, and 40s, I think we're going to start seeing a lot of memory problems coming up."

"Wow, that's pretty scary." Tech is not only affecting our brains; it's also affecting our creativity. "When you are being creative or your mind is wandering, or you're dreaming or daydreaming, a different part of your brain is activated. A part of what we're doing to ourselves, as well as our kids, is that we're not allowing enough of that time. Because it's so easy to just pull out your phone and check the news or whatever. It doesn't matter; it stifles your ability to live within boredom. And boredom is important because boredom then clicks in the creative activities. We don't allow ourselves to get bored anymore."

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