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X-WR-CALNAME:Belonging in a Digital Age: Teens\, Tech\, & Third Places
X-WR-TIMEZONE:Pacific Time (US & Canada)
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260720T162815Z
UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_52632321898727
DTSTART:20260512T190000Z
DTEND:20260512T200000Z
DESCRIPTION:Join the Tech Impact and Policy Center on May 12th from 12PM–
 1PM Pacific for a seminar with Jennifer Heifferon & Alanna Powers-O'Brien.
 \n\nStanford affiliates are invited to join us at 11:40 AM for lunch\, pri
 or to the seminar.  The Spring Seminar Series continues through May\; see 
 our Spring Seminar Series page for speakers and topics. Sign up for our ne
 wsletter for announcements. \n\nAbout the Seminar:\n\nAs adolescence becom
 es increasingly digital\, public discourse tends to focus on screen time\,
  platform design\, and online harms. Yet alongside these concerns\, a para
 llel transformation has unfolded: the steady erosion of physical spaces me
 ant for teens. What happens to youth social life when the outside world co
 ntracts? This talk argues that the rise of digital adolescence must be und
 erstood alongside the decline of third places—low-barrier environments b
 eyond home and school that once supported informal peer culture and autono
 my. Drawing on original statewide data from caregiver focus groups and a s
 urvey of more than 1\,000 teens\, we examine how young people navigate bel
 onging amid shrinking real-world options. By reframing youth technology us
 e as intertwined with social infrastructure\, this research raises a new p
 olicy question: What would it mean to treat third places as essential civi
 c infrastructure for youth in a digital age?\n \n\nAbout the Speaker:\n\nJ
 ennifer Heifferon is the Child Well-Being Program Director at the Californ
 ia Partners Project\, where she leads research and cross-sector initiative
 s focused on youth development in a digital age. Her work examines how tec
 hnology\, family systems\, and community environments intersect to shape a
 dolescent well-being\, with an emphasis on translating lived experience an
 d empirical research into insights for families\, educators\, and civic de
 cision-makers. Jennifer’s background bridges K–12 education as a teach
 er\, learning specialist\, and equity leader\, formal training and facilit
 ation in diversity\, equity\, and inclusion\, and ongoing leadership in yo
 uth sports coaching. Prior to her work in education\, she worked in digita
 l media as an interactive producer. She holds a BA in Psychology from Stan
 ford University and an MA in Teaching from the University of San Francisco
 .\n \n\nAlanna Powers-O'Brien is the Research Specialist for the Family On
 line Safety Institute\, managing FOSI's research projects. She is passiona
 te about creating safer experiences for kids and families online. Alanna h
 as created several resources and managed research projects that focus on i
 nforming parents\, educators and other stakeholders about concepts such as
  digital literacy\, wellbeing and AI. Her prior experiences were in both m
 edia and education. Alanna has taught English and communications courses a
 t both the high school and college level\, and concentrated on the subject
  of media literacy education during her master’s program. Alanna has a m
 aster’s degree in Media Studies from the Newhouse School of Public Commu
 nications at Syracuse University. She also holds undergraduate degrees in 
 both Public Relations and English from Penn State University\, and is a Fu
 lbright alumna.
GEO:37.428476;-122.16909
LOCATION:Building 120\, McClatchy Hall\, Main Quad\, Studio S40 - bring you
 r Stanford ID card/mobile ID to enter the building
SUMMARY:Belonging in a Digital Age: Teens\, Tech\, & Third Places
URL;VALUE=URI:https://events.stanford.edu/event/belonging-in-a-digital-age-
 teens-tech-third-places
CATEGORIES:Lecture/Presentation/Talk
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