Introduction to week two

Welcome to Week 2 of our course on Digital Wellbeing. We hope that you have engaged in some of the discussions about digital society and new technologies, that you now have a solid understanding of what we mean by wellbeing, and that you’ve started to consider how wellbeing differs from broader mental health issues.

For week two, our theme is ‘personal digital wellbeing’. This includes exploring our digital identities and how we live online, and looking at how other people can affect us on the internet. We’ll be breaking this down into three topics:

1. Our virtual and physical selves

Are we the same person online and off? How is our identity moulded through digital technologies? And what happens when we use technology to try and shape who we are? In this activity, we will explore how this digital identity might impact our wellbeing, and how our behaviour can be affected by technology and measurement.

2. Them

Other people can have a huge impact on ourselves and our personal wellbeing. What happens when we engage with people online? How are our lives increasingly being affected by what we do and don’t share online? How can negative online engagement impact upon our personal wellbeing? In this activity we will explore how we might engage negatively with others online and look at ways in which we can manage that negative attention.

3. The online/offline balancing act

How much time do we really spend online? What can happen if we spend too much time plugged in? And how can we work online without burning out and annoying other people? In this activity, we will share some hints and tips for improving our online and offline balance and using technologies in positive ways.

Aims and Objectives

By the end of this week you should have:

• considered how you present yourself online and how you can effectively manage your online identity;
• explored some of the positive and negative aspects of engaging in online communities;
• reflected on your own digital practices and the impact that they have on your digital identity and wellbeing;
• identified some strategies to manage the amount of time you spend online.

We hope that you enjoy the topics we will be covering this week, and that through the process of reflecting upon your own digital practices you will be able to start to develop strategies which will have a positive impact on your wellbeing.