Digital Wellness Program empowers adolescents to be advocates for mindful tech usage
“What was I doing on Snapchat for 15 hours?!” exclaims 12-year-old Alisha looking down at her phone in disbelief. The screen time feature on her phone shows a usage line more than twice as long as that of her other most-used apps—TikTok and Instagram.
She isn’t the exception in the room. Her peers from three Ann Arbor middle schools—Clague, Tappan, and Scarlett—are all looking at their own usage with a degree of unease. The topic of “digital wellness” is what has brought them all together in the company of U-M students and faculty. They are engaged in a two-day symposium on campus followed by two months of working with U-M students to research topics of digital wellness and share their findings with other youth and adults in their community.
“We’re shifting away from saying ‘get off your screens’ and instead helping youth be mindful about their use of technology. How are they using it? When are they using it? How is their mood affected when they use it?” says Beth Sherman, clinical associate professor in the School of Social Work.
The current digital wellness program evolved from the digital citizenship curriculum designed by Dr. Liz Kolb, clinical professor in the Marsal Family School of Education. The digital citizenship curriculum that she launched at Scarlett Middle School began with a focus on the topics of bullying, privacy, and online safety. As the concerns of parents, teachers, and scholars around the country have mounted, the new digital wellness program shifted toward a broader conversation with kids: “what impact are these devices having on me?”
The program is now a collaboration between the Marsal Family School of Education, the School of Information, and the School of Social Work. The U-M student mentors are undergraduate and master’s students from these schools who are taking a course on digital wellness.
Chris Thomas, the Ann Arbor Public Schools tech consultant for secondary education, has worked with Kolb for many years as part of the partnership between the district and the Marsal School. He says, “We’ve seen first-hand the effectiveness of U-M students mentoring youth on this topic.”
When the U-M mentors open a discussion about the development of the human brain, kids delve into a conversation about the desire for attention and affirmation, the compulsion to scroll endlessly, and the terrible meanness of some social media content. One pre-teen even talks about how looking at social media can trigger the release of dopamine in the brain, making it addictive.
Kristin Fontichiaro, clinical professor in the School of Information, says “We know that mental health issues are at the forefront of teachers’ and parents’ minds.” A former school librarian, Fontichiaro sees an opportunity for classroom teachers and school librarians to work together to help students use technology in healthy and productive ways.
Kolb, Fontichiaro, and Sherman are eager for youth to become digital wellness advocates and leaders in their own communities. “The culmination of the program will be projects showcasing students’ understanding of digital wellness and educating others,” says Kolb.
“We have a saying at U-M that we are leaders and best,” Elizabeth Birr Moje, dean of the Marsal School, tells the students. “It doesn’t mean that we are better than everyone. It means that we learn, grow, and strive toward what is best and we help others do the same. Your teachers know that you have the skills and potential to be leaders and best when it comes to digital wellness.”
