3 Digital well-being

Digital well-being is all about feeling comfortable, safe and confident when you are using technology in an online environment. It is about feeling in control in a digital world that can sometimes seem overwhelming. It is also about maintaining positive relationships with others online and avoiding unwanted behaviour such as cyberbullying. Most importantly, it concerns the balance between your online and offline worlds.

People in Myanmar spend an average of 2.4 hours per day on the internet. In a survey, 60% said social media was the main reason they accessed the internet, while 45% use message and internet phone services. A further 40% watch online videos (NewLight, 2017). Digital media has penetrated Myanmar rapidly making traditional print and electronic media less popular. Therefore, if you do spend time online, it’s worth taking steps to ensure your own personal safety.

Activity 4 Your typical week online

Timing: 20 minutes

It would be interesting to compare the Myanmar national statistics with your own experience. We often do not realise just how much time we are online or connected. For example, if we keep our mobile phones on all the time, we can potentially be connected 24 hours a day. Estimate how much time you spend online in comparison with other areas of your life using our Time calculator [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] .

Make a note in the box below about how your online time compares to your offline time. How happy are you with the balance?

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Discussion

Your results will be personal to your own situation. The activity should give you an idea of the proportion of time you spend online. If you are unhappy about the balance with your offline life, you may want to make a few changes to the way you do things.

Being online in itself can sometimes be stressful and expensive. It can also have an impact on other aspects of your life and your relationships with people around you. Your digital well-being can have an impact on your physical and mental health.

Activity 5 Improving your digital well-being

Timing: 10 minutes

Below are five tips on how to improve your digital well-being. Make a note in your reflective journal of two or three tips you would want to try.

  • Keep a diary of how long you are spending online and how much it is costing you.
  • Take regular breaks and make time to relax.
  • Think carefully about what apps and tools you are signing up to. Delete your account if you are not finding these apps and tools useful.
  • Think carefully about what notifications and subscriptions you sign up to. Unsubscribe if these are not useful.
  • Develop your communication skills so you can deal confidently with any bad behaviour online.

Discussion

Again, your response to this activity will be personal. You may have identified a number of things you would like to change. Here are some suggestions.

  • Turn my phone off when I’m with other people (restaurant, pub) – or at least put it on silent, in case of emergencies.
  • Don’t answer text messages when I'm with other people, or in the middle of a conversation with someone else.
  • Take some time away from electronic devices. Build in some ‘me’ time to relax.
  • Take up a hobby that doesn’t involve being online.
  • Unsubscribe from emails notifications and newsletters I don’t need.

Some apps allow you to ‘synchronise’ on multiple devices. This means that whatever you do on one device will be updated on all your other devices. See if your apps allow this.

Good communication skills and wise online behaviour will help your online interactions with others to be positive and beneficial. You will explore this in the next section.

2.4 Agreeing to terms and conditions

3.1 Connecting and communicating safely