Adolescence for Adolescence

Here's a guide for your 12-16 year old.

May 07, 2025

Hey Rewire Collectives (Kids)!

Welcome to this week’s special newsletter! This time around, we’re diving into Adolescence and Social Isolation, what’s happening in your brain during this weird, exciting, and sometimes overwhelming time.

So... what is adolescence anyway?

Adolescence is the stage of life between about 10 and 24 years old. It’s a time when your brain is super flexible, also known as neuroplasticity.
This means it’s easy to learn, so you might start learning languages, developing a taste in music, and getting pickier with friends.

But... with all that learning, your emotions get intense too. In fact, we see that the average age of onset for mental health struggles is 14!

Why do emotions feel so extreme?

When you hit adolescence, you start feeling emotions like embarrassment, pride, and shame much more strongly. This happens because two parts of your brain, the medial prefrontal cortex (the part that helps you plan and make decisions) and the striatum (the part that handles emotions), start connecting in new ways.

Your brain is rewiring itself to handle a more complicated world, but it doesn’t always get it right straight away.

Why are social connections such a big deal now?

Teenagers (that’s you!) care way more about social connections than adults do. Your brain gives bigger rewards for making friends than it does for getting money!

But this also means that if things go wrong, like feeling rejected, ghosted, or left out, it can hurt a lot. And it can make us angry.

Let’s talk about Social Isolation

During COVID-19 (and even now with all the ‘online stuff’), a lot of young people felt lonely. Almost 50% of 10–12-year-olds and 60% of 16–24-year-olds said they felt lonely.

And guess what?
Feeling lonely made people feel ashamed, like there was something wrong with them, even though loneliness is a totally normal human feeling.

Does social media help?

Good question.
Social media can make you feel less lonely, but your brain still knows the difference between real-life interactions and online ones.

Even when teens stayed connected online, their brains showed signs of increased anxiety and fear of threats, just like if they had been totally isolated.

What does isolation do to your brain?

Makes you crave rewards more (meaning you might take more risks or chase attention harder).
Changes how you deal with threats, making you stay scared or anxious longer, even after the danger is gone.

Normally, when something scary happens, your brain learns it’s safe again over time (this is called threat extinction). But during adolescence, your brain already struggles with that, and isolation makes it even harder.

So what can you do?

Meaningful friendships and good family relationships seriously matter for your mental health.
It’s normal to feel super emotional right now, your brain is under construction!
Getting out and seeing people in real life (even if it’s just a little bit) helps your brain feel safer.
Exercise also helps your brain and emotions: sports, dance, walks with friends, anything that gets you moving!

And remember: social media isn’t a bad thing, but it’s not the same as face-to-face connections. Your brain knows the difference, even if you don’t.

You’re literally rewiring your brain right now, and that’s powerful.
You’ve got this. 💥

And if you enjoyed this type of newsletter, let me know!

Until Next Week,

Nicole x

P.S. Let me know if you have any other topics you want covered (for you or your parents!) in the comments!