What is digital well-being? The impact of digital technologies on people and young children's mental, social, physical and emotional health.
"With half of the mental illness beginning by age 14, it is critical to intervene early to minimise its effects on development, education, employment and health." (OECD, 2018, p.4)
As a computing teacher throughout a primary school, it is interesting to understand whether there is a link between children's mental and emotional health and social network sites. As educators, we invest a great deal of time teaching children how to stay safe online, the associated risks, and how to respond to them. An EPI report on social media and children's mental health (Frith, 2017a) shows that children in the U.K. are among the highest social media users in the OECD countries and speculates whether this directly affects the well-being of users.
Confirming the links is a complex issue that is not easily solved, especially with the fast pace of technology and the increased use of social media (Scott, Biello, and Woods, 2019). Adult attitudes and experiences with technology differ significantly from children and young people, and we must realise that many young people will not have know life without technology.
Throughout this social media, instant messaging services and video sharing platforms are collectively referred to as social network sites (SNS).