Using technology to promote parent-teen communication

Project Overview

Preventing youth risky behavior: using technology to promote parent-teen communication

Positive parent-teen communication about sexual health can help protect youth against risky behaviors. This project explored, how technology can be used as a tool to promote communication on these issues that can be uncomfortable to discuss, and developed the website “Let’s Talk about Sex (Digitally!)” with tools and resources for parents, educators, and youth workers. 

Positive parent-teen communication about sexual health is a protective factor against risky behaviors and is associated with better adolescent sexual health outcomes, but these issues can be uncomfortable to discuss for both parents and teens. Technology can bridge this gap: communication research indicates that individuals choose mediated communication to discuss uncomfortable topics. This project, now led by Dr. Amanda Purington Drake, who took over as director of ACT for Youth in 2024, seeks to develop a research-based parent education curriculum to promote healthy adolescent sexual development, using technology as a tool to promote parent-teen communication.

To understand how parents and teens use technology to communicate with each other, we interviewed both teens and parents about the forms, frequency, and reasons they use technology to communicate with each other. These qualitative interviews also explored how communication technologies could make sensitive conversations easier; that is, increase the frequency and quality of communication about sensitive topics, such as sexual health.

The Impacts

Based on a literature review and our interviews, we developed a website aimed at parents, parent educators and youth workers who want to enhance their skills in talking with teens about sexual health through communication technology. We developed the content for our site and tested it with parents to ensure the content was relevant, answered their key questions, developed skills, and provided adequate (but not too many) resources. We also wanted to make sure our site was engaging, accessible, and comprehensive without being overwhelming. Parents were asked to review the site and provide feedback on the content and format, and we made significant changes based on their feedback. The site, titled “Let’s Talk about Sex (Digitally!)” is now publicly available at interactive.actforyouth.net/lets-talk. Parent interviewees were very positive about the site and said it could help them have important conversations with their teen children by educating, developing skills, and providing relevant and trustworthy resources.

Our website, available for free through the ACT for Youth website, can increase knowledge, skills, and connections to reputable resources for parents, parent educators, and other youth workers who need to talk with teens about sexual health. The site will be disseminated through ACT for Youth’s large New York State adolescent health network, and through CCE’s parent education and 4-H networks. We hope that many adults who parent or otherwise care for teens will access this free resource to build their skills. 

Portrait of Jane Powers

Principal Investigator

Jan Powers

Project Details

  • Funding Source: Hatch
  • Statement Year: 2023
  • Status: Completed project
  • Topics: Youth & families, youth behavior, communication

Cornell Unit

College of Human Ecology