The role of digital education in promoting young people’s digital wellbeing and strengthening their resilience

It is important to consider how effective and inclusive digital education can promote learners’ physical, cognitive, social and emotional wellbeing in digital learning environments. This includes how digital education and its teaching materials and methods can help learners maximise their potential, behave safely and feel empowered in online environments.

Supporting digital competence from policy to practice

Digital education policies and initiatives can ensure effective integration of digital technologies into pedagogy and enable learners to develop essential skills. For example, digital culture has been introduced into the Hungarian curriculum, and includes programming knowledge, digital citizenship, media literacy and digital safety. Equipping teachers with digital competences can reduce social exclusion, protect learners from digital risks and prepare them to participate in the digital society.

Fostering positive engagement and inclusion

Well-designed digital content can expand learning opportunities, personalise learning, promote accessibility and improve pupil motivation and engagement, which all enriches learner wellbeing.

At its best, digital technology informs educators, parents and learners, raises awareness about mental health, and reinforces wellbeing. For example, the Beyond Smiles campaign in Bulgaria created an app to help teenagers cope with depression, anxiety and cyberbullying.

Connectivity and a suitable digital infrastructure enable learners and teachers to access a wide range of digital content. This fosters remote collaboration which enhances social inclusion and creates opportunities for collaborative learning experiences.

Delivering on digital wellbeing

Digital education aims at creating a safe digital experience and should protect children from harmful and illegal online content, conduct, contact and consumer risk. As part of the Digital Education Action Plan 2021-2027, the European Commission has published a set of guidelines for teachers and educators on tackling disinformation and promoting digital literacy.

The 2024 Erasmus+ annual work programme also calls for policy experimentation, with priority on digital wellbeing. The programme works in synergy with other EU programmes to support students’ wellbeing in digital inclusion and empowerment. In parallel, initiatives such as the Digital Education Hackathon and the Digital Education Hub explore digital solutions.

As a follow-up to the 2022 Council Conclusions on digital wellbeing in education, the European Commission is further developing the SELFIE tool to provide guidance for teachers on digital wellbeing