Introduction
Well-being refers to our sense of self and our ability to live our lives as closely as possible to the way we want to. But how do you make sure it actually improves your life rather than distracts from it? Digital well-being is a term used to describe the impact of technologies and digital services on people’s mental, physical, social, and emotional health.
Digital Well-being
Digital well-being is the enhancement and improvement of human well-being, in the intermediate and long term, through the use of digital media. It is a subjective individual experience of the best balance between the benefits and drawbacks obtained from mobile connectivity. This experiential state comprises affective and cognitive appraisals of the integration of digital connectivity into ordinary life. Digital well-being attempts to help people have a better relationship with technology in their lives by focusing on four areas-
- Understanding habits
- Concentrating on what matters
- Switching off
- Helping families find the right balance with technology
It also ensures that digital technologies do not negatively impact safety, relationships or mental and physical health.
Examples of Digital Well-being
Common examples of digital wellness practices include
- Implementing screen time limits
- Wearing blue-light-blocking glasses to alleviate eye strain
- Muting notifications on mobile devices to prevent constant interruptions.
- To maintain healthy habits with physical activity, nutrition, and sleep.
For example, some digital well-being apps can calculate the number of hours per day employees spend staring at their screens. If an employee exceeds a set time limit, the digital well-being app can send an alert letting the user know it’s time to take a break. Additionally, digital wellness tech might include productivity features, such as smartphone silence notifications that enable employees to set their mobile devices to Do Not Disturb. This feature helps to silence phone calls and all other incoming notifications. The messages and emails that employees receive in this mode are stored in their devices’ notification centers.
Importance of Digital Well-being
The growing popularity of digital health and wellness is due to a link between increased technology use and mental health issues, including attention issues and behavior problems. Excessive technology usage has also been associated with burnout, suggesting employers should adopt tools and practices that moderate technology usage to promote healthier lives and work. Digital wellness is important because it enables people to be more engaged and productive, as well as lead healthier lives during and outside of work. Adopting digital wellness practices would allow people to focus on their work and cause less exhaustion and distraction. In addition, there is improved employee satisfaction and better health outcomes:
- Digital wellness involves building and maintaining a balance in our offline and online lives as we currently exist in both spaces.
- With this in mind, we must prepare to function adequately and appropriately in this digital era, which is here to stay.
- The digital space has a way of defining our identities if we haven’t figured it out ourselves. Every time we use the digital space productively and to the benefit of our well-being, we’ve been able to establish balance.
- Digital wellness is, therefore, important because we’re constantly surrounded by the digital space (and we’re talking about entering a digital future), and our livelihood is largely designed to function within it.
- Digital wellness is not denying the existence of the digital era or running away from it; rather, it is enjoying a productive and rewarding use of it.
How to Get Digital Well-being
Avoid doom scrolling
Pay close attention to how social media and online content are influencing your emotions, thoughts, or actions.
Be mindful
There are a lot of great online tools and content that can help support all aspects of mental health and well-being. From meditation apps to help you relax and focus to platforms that help you develop your sense of identity and self, stay connected, and support one another. There are lots of great online learning tools where you can try something new, like drawing or yoga, which can build new cognitive and creative skills, as well as online exercise classes to help you stay healthy and unwind.
Protect yourself and others online.
Check the privacy settings on all your social media profiles. Be careful when signing up for apps and services online – especially when providing your full name, address, or photo. Suppose you are concerned about something you have seen or experienced online. In that case, you should talk to a trusted adult like a parent or teacher, report the incident on the platform in question, and look up safety helplines and mental health services in your country for more support. You can help others, too, by being mindful of their online experiences, recognizing the signs that a classmate, friend, or even stranger is not well or exhibiting signs of distress, and helping them get the support they need.
Choose kindness
Use social media for good by sharing positive and supportive content and messages with your friends, family, and classmates.
Stay present and connected.
The lines between the online and offline worlds can feel increasingly blurred, making it hard to live in the present moment and satisfy our innate need for human contact. Do you ever find yourself interrupting what you are doing so you can post it on social media or scrolling through your friend’s stories rather than calling or meeting up to see how they are doing? It’s important to try to switch off and take a break from social media now and then and spend time with friends and family in real life, too, where it’s safe to do so. Try to set realistic and personal goals, for example, not picking up your phone or going online for the first hour of the day (it wastes energy and trains you to absorb information unfiltered) or just before bed. Activities such as meditation, going for a walk, or calling a friend will help provide a similar stimulation but leave you feeling more focused and relaxed.
Conclusion
If one understands the importance of digital wellness and is taking active measures to reduce the usage of digital technologies, then thank you for taking your health and well-being into your own hands. Digital wellness enables users to be more productive and engage in activities that promote holistic growth, using technology to attain healthy and active lifestyles.
References:
- Rosencrance, L., Fitzgibbons, L. What is digital well-being? TechTarget techtarget.com
- Stevens, A. Tips to promote digital wellness. TechTarget techtarget.com
- Mobile media and social space: how anytime, anyplace connectivity structures everyday life. Abeele MV, Wolf RD, Ling R. Media Commun. 2018;6:5–14.
- Putting a finger on our phone obsession. [ Feb; 2022 ];Winnick M.
- Measuring smartphone usage and task switching with log tracking and self-reports. Deng T, Kanthawala S, Meng J, et al.
- Medical students’ awareness of personal digital assistant devices’ impact on their health. Altwaijri W, Almunyif RM, Alotaibi GH, Alowais LA, Wasim S, Alyabsi M. J Family Med Prim Care. 2021;10:2336–2341.
- Smartphone addiction among university students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Alosaimi FD, Alyahya H, Alshahwan H, Al Mahyijari N, Shaik SA. Saudi Med J. 2016;37:675–683.
- Relationship between psychological well-being and smartphone addiction of university students. Kumcagiz H, Gündüz Y. Int J High Educ. 2016;5:144–156.
- Depression, anxiety, and smartphone addiction in university students- a cross-sectional study. Matar Boumosleh J, Jaalouk D. PLoS One. 2017;12:0.
- The potential effect of technology and distractions on undergraduate students’ concentration. Attia NA, Baig L, Marzouk YI, Khan
- The impact of digital technology use on adolescent well-being Dienlin T, Johannes N. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2020;22:135–14210. The association between adolescent well-being and digital technology use. Orben A, Przybylski AK. Nat Hum Behav. 2019;3:173–182.
- MyTime: designing and evaluating an intervention for smartphone non-use. Hiniker A, Kohno T, Kientz J, Hong R.
- Google digital well-being. [ Apr; 2022 ]
- Putting self-control at the center of digital well-being. Lyngs U.
- Promoting students’ well-being and inclusion in schools through digital technologies: perceptions of students, teachers, and school leaders in Italy expressed through SELFIE piloting activities. Panesi S, Bocconi S, Ferlino L.
- Digital well-being as a dynamic construct. Vanden Abeele MMP. Commun Theory. 2021;31:932–955.
- NUGU: a group-based Intervention app for improving self-regulation of limiting smartphone use. Ko M, Yang S, Lee J, et al. Proceedings of the 18th ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work & Social Computing
- Digital detox: an effective solution in the smartphone era? A systematic literature review. Radtke T, Apel T, Schenkel K, Keller J, von Lindern E. Mob Media Commun. 2022;
- Anrijs S, Bombeke K, Durnez W, et al. HCI International 2018 – Posters’ Extended Abstracts. Vol. 851. Las Vegas, NV, USA: Springer; 2018. Mobile DNA: relating physiological stress measurements to smartphone usage to assess the effect of a digital detox; pp. 356–363.
- Digital detox: the effect of smartphone abstinence on mood, anxiety, and craving. Wilcockson TD, Osborne AM, Ellis DA. Addict Behav. 2019;99:106013.
- Shlain T. New York: Simon and Schuster; 2019. 24/6, the power of unplugging one day a week.
- Thakral.S, What Is Digital Wellness and Why Is This Important? Pacific Prime
Unlock Exclusive Benefits with Subscription
- Premium Resources
- Thriving Community
- Unlimited Access
- Personalised Support
