You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity

every day. I'm your host, Elise Hugh. Adolescence shouldn't be viewed as a time of dysfunction,

says neuroscientist Jennifer Pfeiffer, but rather we should think of it as a peak period of brain development and growth.

In her talk, Jennifer shares why she thinks it's time to flip the script

and recognize that young people are acting exactly as they're wired to when they're teens

and are capable of far more than we've been led to believe.

I study Adelson brains for a living. I also study their hormones, social lives, and mental health,

but first I fell in love with their brains.

Unfortunately, the story we tell about adolescence isn't so amazing.

We have, as a society, a long history of judging young people,

underestimating them, we launch full-blown moral panics

with every trend they set and technology they embrace.

That sets up bad expectations where nobody wins.

So, my mission is to use science

to help change society's narrative.

Think about it.

Right now, the story we tell about adolescence is they're too anxious, too depressed,

obsessed with their phones and full of FOMO. Rewind a couple decades, different story equally

unflattering. They're too rebellious, party animals, maybe glued to their TVs or Atari's.

Why can't they be more like adults?

Who, of course, have exactly the right amount of mental health issues

and other vices, right?

...