Wellness

What is digital wellbeing?

Digital wellbeing is a movement of how much one is connected to their device or how much time they spend online. Basically,it is the amount of time spent in front of a screen. This can have a negative impact on a person's attention span and/or harm productivity.

Because of to much screen time and less human interaction, it is more important now than ever to support social emotional learning for our students and teachers. During virtual or remote learning, please remember to keep in mind a few things:

have a positive attitude and interact positively with students.
set and achieve positive goals.
show empathy toward others.

Our interactions, connections and relationships with our students are more crucial now than ever.

My experiences

I am not a medical professional, just a technology teacher who worked 10-12 hours a day at home at the start of the pandemic using multiple devices at one time to support teachers and help them be successful in remote learning.

However, I do feel that especially during the pandemic, digital wellbeing is more important than ever. In my opinion, we need to practice more self-care acts so that we avoid fatigue, burn-out, and the negative effects of screen time. Plus, not interacting with people normally, and not socialization with friends and teachers face to face can take a negative impact on a person too.

Pay attention to your body!

Again, it is extremely important to pay attention to your body while staying connected during the day. During my time working from home, I was experiencing the following:

headaches
eye strain or bloodshot eyes
back and neck pain
shoulder pain
discomfort in my hands
stiffness
fatigue

IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING ANY OF THESE SYMPTOMS, PLEASE TELL AN ADULT, PARENT OR GUARDIAN.

Here are a few tips I found worked for me:

Establish a routine
Have a dedicated and comfortable workspace
Take frequent breaks from the screen (look away from the monitor)
Dim the brightness of your screen to reduce eye strain.
Put your device in contrast mode so that the colors are inverted.
Ergonomics is key! Adjust your physical workspace so that you fit better into it. reference article
Get up from your seat and physically move around. Go outside for a quick walk or just walk around the house.
Meditate
Stretch, yoga, neck rolls, stretches with a band.
Set a timer for every 10 minutes to alternate a standing and sitting position.
Use voice typing tools when you can.
Powered off all my devices, including my cell phone in the evening. I needed time to disconnect from the tech totally.