Digital Health

Video Transcription

Hello, everyone. I hope you're having an excellent day today. Today, we're going to discuss the concept of digital health, and I've chosen a quote by Plato, which I think really gets out the major overarching element that we're looking at here. Plato says that "the part can never be well unless the whole is well." And that applies to what we're looking at today within digital health, both our physical health and our mental health as we interact in the digital world.

By the time you're done with the lesson today, you are going to be able to summarize the nine elements of digital citizenship. You're going to be able to define specifically the element of digital health. You'll be able to discuss why knowledge of digital health is so important to you and your students, and you'll be able to identify what digital health elements your students should be learning.

Now when we look at digital citizenship, we see that there are nine major elements to help make up digital citizenship. The first of which is digital access. Digital access has to do with the access that students in your classroom have or don't have to these technological devices and the way in which you as a teacher have to adapt in order to help your students of all access means become a digital citizen.

The second major element of digital citizenship is digital commerce. This looks at the way in which we buy and sell things using new technology as a medium and what we as teachers need to communicate with our students concerning buying and purchasing online. The third major element of digital citizenship is digital literacy. This looks at how fluent we are, both we as teachers and our students, in the use of new technology. This looks at fluency both in and out of the classroom.

The fourth major element is digital etiquette, focusing in on some of the norms our society has established for how we interact online and how we use these new technologies. The fifth element of digital citizenship is digital law. This takes the elements of digital etiquette one step further and focuses on the law pertaining to our interactions on the internet. The sixth and seventh elements of digital citizenship are our digital rights and digital responsibilities. These elements focus in on the rights that we as teachers and our students have as we interact online and the responsibilities that come with those rights.

The eighth element of digital citizenship is digital health, which looks at the way we are protecting our health and well-being given our new modes of communicating and interacting with the internet. This looks at how we are affected both physically and emotionally. And the final element of digital citizenship is digital security, focusing in on what are the elements that are put in place to help protect us as we interact online and become fully-fledged digital citizens.

So let's focus in specifically on the concept of digital health and wellness. First of all, what is it? Well, the element of digital citizenship that has to do with digital health and wellness is really focusing on maintaining good health practices while using both digital devices as well as accessing various online and digital resources. It's important that your students understand that while these may seem like safe tools, whenever you're interacting with a digital device or resources, there's always the possibility or risk however small of a harm.

Overuse of these tools can really exacerbate some of those harms. And when we look at maintaining good health, we're looking both at the physical health, the way in which we're protecting our bodies to stay healthy as we use various forms of technology, as well as our mental health, the way we're focusing in on the potential dangers to our minds and our well-being and, specifically, how to avoid any potential health pitfalls. So why is digital health so important to know and understand?

Well, our society is becoming increasingly dependent on the use of technology. That is a theme we come back to over and over again. And with this increased use, there's always the potential for an inherent danger when using this technology. The physical dangers that are possible with technology are things such as eye safety. The way in which our eyes are being forced to look at a screen however big or small and take in the information is definitely affecting our eye health and should be monitored.

Also, there is the concept of repetitive stress syndrome. This is pain due to repetitive tasks. This isn't something that is especially unique to the use of digital sources. But the way in which we are typing, putting our hands in the same position and maybe using our fingers over and over again in the same way can certainly lead to elements of repetitive stress syndrome.

Also, it's important to look at the inherent mental dangers, to use and overuse of technology, specifically some of those habit forming reactions that happen internally and that produce teen, especially, addictions to technology. Unfortunately, there are an overwhelming number of studies that show the effects of internet use on teenagers. One very recent study came out of Finland that states that when they spoke to teenagers about how much of a problem they felt that the internet had become, only 14% of students indicated that they were normal internet users as compared to 85% of students who said that they were either mild, moderate, or serious over-users of technology.

When we have this incredibly large percentage of students self identifying the fact that they are non-normal internet users, we then look at other specific studies that point out some of the effects of what this extensive internet use can do. One study showed that 6% of teens show signs of severe internet addiction and that teens addicted to the internet often rate and identify themselves as being less than perfectly healthy. And this poor health rating comes from often things that are associated with that extensive online use, a lack of sleep, a severe amount of anxiety, and social problems, including often students showing that they're withdrawing from friends or other social activities in order to spend time online. And, thus, there are a number of behavior problems that tend to be associated with this overuse, both in school and out of school.

So what is important for us to teach our students when it comes to digital health? First and foremost, it's important that we stress that being a good digital citizen requires that we are in good digital health. We also need to stress that students are becoming self-aware of the time they spend using digital tools. Students need to begin developing the resources of monitoring their own use of digital technology.

We need to be teaching students about sound ergonomic practices. If we are going to be asking them and they are going to be choosing to spend a significant amount of time online or using digital tools, we need to make sure that they are not only protecting themselves mentally but we give them the tools necessary to physically protect the way in which they shape their bodies during these interactions. That can be through the use of an ergonomic chair, as well as different elements to help keep the hands and fingers and wrists safe. Finally, we need to make sure that we are constantly coming back to and helping students understand the way in which they can keep their brain and their bodies safe so that they can be active digital citizens in today's digital world.

Now that we're at the end of the lesson, you should be able to summarize the nine major elements of digital citizenship. You should be able to define the specific element of digital health. You should be able to discuss why knowledge of digital health is so important to both us and our students. And you should be able to identify what digital health elements you are going to be ensuring your students are learning in the classroom.

Now I would like to take just a moment for reflection. Looking back on all that you have learned about digital health, what do you foresee will be the greatest difficulty or challenge as you start implementing elements of digital health into your curriculum? It's your turn now to apply what you've learned in this video. The additional resources section could be super helpful to you. This section is designed to help you discover useful ways to apply what you've learned here, and each link includes a brief description so that you can easily target the resources that you want.