Challenges and Opportunities of Technology for Decision-Making and Decision Education

We will discuss how technology presents both opportunities for improving adolescents’ decision making as well as creating new challenges. Some examples of how technology creates new challenges is difficulty in exerting self-control and sticking to long term goals. Some examples of how technology creates new opportunities include new and accessible tools for mindfulness as well as better organization skills. More generally, technology contributes to creating a messy information ecosystem, making it harder for adolescents to successfully navigate various decision points. Our goals are to (1) describe the ways in which technology creates opportunities and challenges and (2) identify concrete tools adolescents can use to better navigate their decision-making process.