SEL in the Digital Age

For years, parents and teachers have been concerned over young people’s use of digital technology. Adults worry that children are spending too much time playing video games or scrolling through social media, and that these platforms are hurting their social and emotional development. 

But digital devices aren’t going anywhere. People use digital technology for everything from banking to healthcare to education and more. As our digital footprint only continues to grow, it’s important that our children are learning social and emotional skills in the context of their online lives. 

Social media and other digital platforms often seek an emotional response from users. Anger and fear, in particular, can keep people scrolling through their newsfeeds and sending out messages, which is good for social media sites. And social media companies have shown that they’re willing to prey on young people to make a profit. That makes it even more important to equip students with the tools and skills needed to navigate digital spaces. 

EducationWeek identified 5 social and emotional skills that kids need to lead healthy digital lives. Self-awareness helps kids recognize how technology is negatively affecting them. Social perspective-taking helps students consider how other people might see things differently in online interactions. Students need empathy to maintain healthy relationships and self-regulation to control their own impulses. Lastly, responsible decision-making helps students make the right choices when it comes to their online lives. 

Our latest program, Today’s Digital Citizens, touches on all five areas of the CASEL wheel: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Students will learn about their own identity and the identity of their classmates, they will work together to complete their video project, and they will become experts in the subject of their PSA, which will be a topic related to the use of digital technology. 

Social and emotional learning isn’t an afterthought with TDC. It’s at the core of our program. 

“Technology is not going away,” said Melissa Schlinger, the vice president of practice and programs at CASEL. “We need to provide our young people with these skills.”