EPIK Deliberate Digital

04/08/2023

Here's the video from the Project STAND webinar on Tuesday. Learn more about the research on teens and tech.

One thought on an answer to a question about educational tools: even as educational tools can be beneficial, we urge you to help youth think about balance -- are they taking care of body, mind, time, and relationships? Learning is great, but if they (or we!) are ignoring your body's needs for food or sleep or exercise, or if we are not spending time with people we care about, even good actions can end up being distractions.

Nir Eyal says it well -- anything can become a DIStraction if it takes you off course of what you have committed to do. The opposite of distraction is TRACTION.

Drs. Mitch Prinstein and Eva Telzer deconstruct the psychological science on youths' technology and social media use so you can understand what scientists have found, what it means for youth today, and what you can to do help. The results are sometimes frightening, but there is hope, especially if p...

04/04/2023

One of our collaborators is hosting a weekly webinar every Tuesday this month. Topics vary from exploring digital risks to reinforcing protective factors (like building connection).

We appreciate that the topics aren't all about the negative. Prevention science principles reinforce that yes, we need to talk about and understand and try to reduce risks. AND connection and bonding are essential for youth well-being.

There's a lot in this digital world we can't control, and there's a lot that we'll likely always be behind on as parents. The digital world is changing faster than most of us can keep up with.

But intentionally building connection is something we can do. And we can do it today. We can do it now. We don't have to wait for policy or tech companies or anything to change.

So if and as you learn about the risks our youth face, don't forget the power of connection. It's there to access every day.

10/26/2022

When we talk about Digital Wellness (for ourselves or children and youth in our spheres of influence), it's best to focus on small wins, celebrating in ways that are meaningful to the individual, as immediately as possible.

"People change best by feeling good, not by feeling bad."
"Our brains want to feel good. Celebrating small wins gives them something to repattern our life around."
"Celebrate successes, no matter how small they are. This is how we take advantage of our neurochemistry."
“There’s nothing wrong with taking bold action. Life and happiness occasionally demand it. But remember that you hear about people making big changes because this is the exception, not the rule. Narrative drama comes from bold action, not from the incremental progress that leads to sustainable success.”
― B.J. Fogg, Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything

"When we think about progress, we often imagine how good it feels to achieve a long-term goal or experience a major breakthrough. These big wins are great—but they are relatively rare. The good news is that even small wins can boost inner [elements of well-being] tremendously."
The Power of Small Wins
by Teresa M. Amabile and Steven J. Kramer, Harvard Business Review, May 2011

"[T]he great doesn’t happen through impulse alone, and is a succession of little things that are brought together." -Vincent Van Gogh, in a letter to his son, Theo, 1882

10/19/2022

Some interesting research came out that (like other research) brings more nuance to the conversation about teens, social media, and mental health. We urge this kind of continued nuanced conversation. There is much more to wellness than just counting hours on a screen.

"There is a common narrative that mental health would “get better” if adolescents would simply spend less time on their phones and social media. However, the current data suggests this is not necessarily the case, which aligns with quite a bit of prior research (e.g., Appel et al., 2020; Coyne et al., 2020;
Huang, 2018; Meier & Reinecke, 2020). For example, Orben, and Przybylski, (2019) analyzed data involving more than 1,000 adolescents and found that screen time accounts for only 0.4% of the variance associated with depression and anxiety. This was about the same effect size as eating potatoes had on mental health (an association the news media rightly rarely highlights). In other words, 99.6% of the variance in mental health was explained by other factors (such as getting a good breakfast or the amount of time sleeping).

This does not mean that social media is irrelevant to adolescent mental health, but rather supports the notion that screen time may not be the critical variable. Instead, the context and content of use may matter much more than sheer time spent online. For example, we could hypothetically have two adolescents who have very different experiences on social media. The first adolescent only spends one hour on social media but might have extremely negative experiences, perhaps being cyberbullied and leaves feeling excluded and hopeless about life (even though they only spent one hour on social media). The second adolescent could spend four hours on social media but could have totally different experiences – perhaps spending the time making meaningful connections with friends and family and leaves feeling supported and loved. Thus, we examined different context of social media use in the following section to answer the question, “if time spent on social media does not matter as much as we expected – what does?”

"Teaching by Example" -- a report on research exploring parenting, technology, and youth mental and behavioral health

10/19/2022

What's your opinion on cell phones at school? The governor of Utah recently shared his.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox on Monday said that he believes social media is negatively impacting the mental health, social connection and emotional well-being of Utah teens during a speech at Bonneville Jr. High School.

10/06/2022

Love how wellness is being built into the culture at some schools in the U.S. Wellness is about much more than avoiding negative things -- it's about learning how to refuel, to be able to "point and name" feelings and needs and what's happening in our bodies and minds and relationships. It's a practice, a practice made much better as we work on it together.

Westlake High implemented a wellness center to help students deal with anxiety and depression after several tragic deaths. A BYU study shows the center has significantly helped students.

08/24/2022

Another FREE Digital Wellness series begins on September 15 at 1:00 p.m. Mountain time.

Past participants have said "this was the highlight of my week" and "this is an excellent series" and "don't miss this opportunity." A college student said this was her favorite class she had taken.

This is not your usual "course" -- we make it interactive. This time around, we will also have some giveaways.

I wish I had known what we share when I first started using the internet. But the series moves beyond just digital life. We explore multidisciplinary ideas about well-being in general -- for personal well-being, and for our collective well-being. As such, it can also be considered an exploration of Civic Wellness -- how we can each practice more centered and peaceful civic engagement and community service.

Hope you might consider joining us! Pre-registration link is in the flyer below.

"This discussion series is phenomenal! If you think about it, our interactions with our devices are affecting so many different aspects of our lives and that’s why so many topics are covered. It has been an eye-opening experience for me.” Linda Zenger, Digital Citizenship Specialist, Utah PTA https://bit.ly/3LvozzX

04/20/2022

Some thought-provoking ideas about simple phrases we can tweak with young children.

Emotional Social Parenting™ (ESP) helps our children learn how to manage their emotions by helping us, as adults, do the same. Emotional Social Parenting™ (ESP) is consistent and unconditional love.

03/11/2022

Looking for a fun way to talk to your kids about technology and how algorithms and tech design impact our attention? John Linford, the youngest professional magician in Utah, recently did a presentation for a state PTA group explaining the similarities between magic and technology/algorithms.

His notion of having grace with ourselves and our kids and each other had an impact on those who heard him speak.

There are two magic tricks at the end of this video, including one where he explains how he does the trick.

01/20/2022

It's easy to focus on the things we fear about teens and tech. But what about the stories of the good that can be done with big hearts, quick minds, and fast fingers?

If you have a story about how people (both young and older) are using tech for good, let us know.

Anna* (not her real name) was sad to wake up to the news that her friend’s mom had passed away. Anna wrestled and wondered what she could do to help her friend during this hard time. She texted a friend, and they decided to send messages to their friends to come to school dressed in…

01/08/2022

If you are a pick-a-word kind of person at New Year's time, this quote might make you smile. I've done the word thing for years now and it has made a difference in my life, especially when I write about different facets of the word. Almost without exception, new layers of meaning tend to emerge through the year as I sit in (and write about) the word(s) that have come.

One of our collaborators, Sharilee Griffiths, of My Discovery Destination, recommends the book "One Word" by Jimmy Page, Dan Britton, Jon Gordon as a guide for choosing a word. [This is a book I hadn't heard of, but it's been around for a while.] Apparently there is also a version of that book for children.

We also have a values-writing exercise that can be found here. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PFnXDMgUJF6PEmMyrcUBk79NVDE2GyumqN-QwcIxZMc/edit?usp=sharing

Dr. Kelly McGonigal: “It turns out that writing about your values is one of the most effective psychological interventions ever studied. In the short term, writing about personal values makes people feel more powerful, in control, proud, and strong. It also makes them feel more loving, connected, and empathetic toward others. It increases pain tolerance, enhances self-control, and reduces unhelpful rumination after a stressful experience. In the long term, writing about values has been shown to boost GPAs, reduce doctor visits, improve mental health, and help with everything from weight loss to quitting smoking and reducing drinking. It helps people persevere in the face of discrimination and reduces self-handicapping. In many cases, these benefits are a result of a one-time mindset intervention. People who write about their values once, for ten minutes, show benefits months or even years later.” [from _The Upside of Stress_]

Dr. McGonigal and other researchers have discovered that when you have something physical that reminds you of the word you have chosen (a bracelet, a keychain, a sticky note, etc.) it can help augment the positive impact. For families, a values-writing activity and a craft or something could make for a meaningful way to welcome the new year.

p.s. We would recommend Dr. McGonigal's book, or at least giving her TED talk a watch.

Dr. Kelly McGonigal: “It turns out that writing about your values is one of the most effective psychological interventions ever studied. In the short term, writing about personal values makes people feel more powerful, in control, proud, and strong. It also makes them feel more loving, connected.....