Education in the Digital Age
Healthy and Happy Children
The COVID-19 pandemic was a forceful reminder that education plays an important role in delivering not just academic learning, but also in supporting physical and emotional well-being. Balancing traditional “book learning” with broader social and personal development means new roles for schools and education more generally.
This volume is part of a series that examines the intersections between education, well-being and digital technologies. Complementing the first volume Educating 21st Century Children: Emotional Well-Being in the Digital Age, this volume turns the spotlight on physical health and well-being. It explores the important role of play and risk-taking in learning. It examines the “pursuit of perfection” and the impact on children’s lives, whether it be physical, cognitive or academic. It highlights important efforts countries have made to tackle inequality and protect and empower students in both physical and digital environments. It ends with a look at the pending agenda, underscoring the role of partnerships, policy and protection.
Digital media and cognitive development
Contradictory statements are often heard about the effects of digital technology use on health or cognition, posing practical dilemmas to parents, educators, health professionals and policy makers. We argue that one source of inconsistencies lies in an oversimplistic concept of "screen time", which fails to capture the complexity of digital media practices. For example, research shows that action video game play and media “multitasking,” two activities that count as screen time, have opposite effects on attention. We urge adoption of standardised definitions and propose guiding principles to achieve greater granularity, accuracy and consistency in conceptualising and addressing media effects.