The Digital World
Social-emotional health is important because it shapes how students manage feelings, build relationships, handle stress, and make responsible decisions in school and life. Technology can have a major impact on social-emotional well-being — while it helps students connect and learn, too much screen time, social media comparison, cyberbullying, and constant notifications can increase anxiety, disrupt sleep, and affect self-esteem.
That’s why we need to intentionally teach healthy technology habits, such as setting screen-time limits, taking device-free breaks, turning off notifications during homework or sleep hours, thinking before posting or commenting, and balancing online time with in-person activities, hobbies, and physical movement. Helping students build awareness and self-control around tech use supports both their mental health and their success in and out of school.
At South Orange Maplewood, our students take part in a variety of activities around digital citizenship during their library classes in elementary school. At the middle school level, conversations around digital literacy and citizenship take place during the advisory period. Finally, students talk about digital safety in our Freshman Academy and in health classes.