Digital Well-Being: Digital Spaces That Lift You Up

Please refer to our Before You Teach guides for resources to support your practice.

‍Mental Health 101

Safer Language

Classroom Discussion Guide

In this activity, students explore how different online spaces, people, and content affect their mood and mindset, recognizing what uplifts them and what may be worth limiting or stepping away from.

This is the third in a three-part series of activities to help students build healthy digital habits and support their well-being. Be sure to check out the other activities:

Digital Well-Being: Digital Snapshot & Intention Check

Digital Well-Being: Pause, Notice, Replace

Students will...

• begin to curate and engage with positive digital content intentionally.

Handouts

Handout: Digital Spaces that Lift You Up

Additional Materials

• pen/pencil

• Quick Intro
• Reflection
• Intention Setting: ‘Digital Feel-Good Plan’
• Wrap-Up Discussion

Step 1: Quick Intro (1 min)

Teacher prompt: “Not all screen time is bad. Some online spaces make us laugh, learn, or feel connected. Today we’ll look at how to shape our digital spaces to support our well-being.”

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Step 2: Reflection (5 min)

Ask students to fill in the chart on the handout provided. (Examples are provided in first four rows.)

Teacher prompt: “Which online spaces make you feel good or inspired?”“Which ones usually leave you drained or distracted?”

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Step 3: Create Your ‘Digital Feel-Good Plan’ (5 min)

Ask students to write 1–2 sentences:

• “One digital space I want to spend more time in is…”
• “One space or habit I want to limit or replace is…”

Optional challenge: “Curate your feed this week. Unfollow or mute one account that drains you, and follow one that uplifts you.”

Step 4: Wrap-Up Discussion (3–5 min)

Ask:

• “What makes an online space positive or healthy?”
• “How can we design our feeds or habits to reflect what we value?”

Physical and Health Education Canada

Grade 10

Express healthy digital limits and ways to address misuse or addiction (e.g., social media, use of technology, gaming, online shopping, gambling)

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British Columbia

Career-Life Education

Learning Standards: Curricular Competency

Experience

• Practise effective strategies for healthy school/work/life balance

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Manitoba

Physical Education and Health 20F

Achievement Objectives

Applies healthy stress-management strategies and communication skills for stress reduction in case scenarios.

Designs, implements, evaluates and revises action plans for making personal and group decisions for active, healthy lifestyle practices.

Specific Student Learning Outcomes

K4S2C4a

• Examine the strategies and defence mechanisms that can be healthy or unhealthy ways of managing stress.

K5S2A2

• Demonstrate knowledge of healthy lifestyles practices that contribute to disease/illness prevention, including mental illness/disorders.

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New Brunswick

Personal Wellness 9

Big Idea: Positive Mental Fitness Strategies

Achievement Indicators:

Identify strategies to build own positive mental health.

Big Idea: Helpful and Harmful Choices

Achievement Indicators:

Analyze how food, screen time, and substances may affect an individual’s health (e.g., mental, social, emotional, and physical including brain development)

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Wellness Through Physical Education (110)

General Curriculum Outcome:

1.0 Students demonstrate an understanding of the concept of wellness.

Specific Curriculum Outcome:

1.2 Students evaluate and address personal wellness needs.

1.3 Students analyze how society, media and culture influence wellness

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Ontario

Healthy Active Living Education, Grade 10 (PPL 2O)

Specific Expectations

C1 Understanding Health Concepts

• 1.1 Demonstrate an understanding of factors that enhance mental health and emotional and spiritual well-being
• 1.2 Demonstrate an understanding of the impact of substance use and addictive behaviours on all aspects (e.g., physical, emotional, cognitive, spiritual, social, economic) of a person’s health and well-being (ON)

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Healthy Active Living Education, Grade 12 (PPL4O)

Specific Expectations

C2 Making Healthy Choices

• 2.3 Describe how coping and interpersonal skills and their knowledge of personal protective and risk factors can be used to develop resilience and enhance their ability to make healthy choices, including the avoidance of substance use and addictive behaviours

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Recreation and Healthy Active Living Leadership (PLF4M)

Specific Expectations

C2 Healthy Active Living Plan

• 2.1 Describe how healthier choices related to physical activity, healthy eating, and other aspects of everyday living (e.g., limiting screen time and increasing participation in a variety of physical activities that provide cardiovascular and muscular endurance, muscular strength, or flexibility benefits; eating balanced meals; choosing nutritious snacks; managing stress; getting enough sleep; making choices with personal safety in mind) contribute to better physical, mental, and social health and greater personal well-being (ON)

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Prince Edward Island

Physical and Health Education 9 (9PHEA)

‍Specific Curriculum Outcomes

Learners are expected to create a personalized mental health plan

‍Achievement Indicators

Develop and implement a personalized mental health plan that incorporates evidence-based strategies, self-awareness, and healthy decision-making skills

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Wellness (PED401A)

Outcomes and Indicators

W1. Evaluate one’s self in each dimension of wellness.

‍l. Examine the relationships among defense mechanisms, feelings, behaviours, and mental health (i.e., ways we protect ourselves from things we do not want to think about or deal with).

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Saskatchewan

Wellness 10

Outcomes and Indicators

W4. l. Examine the relationships among defense mechanisms, feelings, behaviours, and mental health (i.e., ways we protect ourselves from things we do not want to think about or deal with).

W5.g. Examine emotional and behavioural patterns of self and others and determine related impact on optimal wellness.