TEACH STUDENTS HEALTHY + PRODUCTIVE SMARTPHONE HABITS

Explore Resources on Smartphone Use, Digital Discernment, and More!

Learn how Wayfinder can help support new laws and regulations around devices in classrooms and help students build positive digital habits.

Talk to Our Team

Teaching Students Digital Discernment

Digital discernment means connecting a Why to our digital lives and developing a greater awareness of how those digital lives impact our offline ones.

At Wayfinder, we recognize that limiting the use of addictive devices is a start, but helping students learn healthy and safe behaviors regarding social media and phone use is the key to long-term success. That’s why we offer multiple resources for educators to guide students in building digital literacy skills, developing productive cellphone habits, engaging in digital citizenship, and more!

Read our new blog: Digital Discernment vs. Digital Literacy: Everything Educators Need to Know to discover how digital discernment and digital literacy work together to build students' self-awareness, focus, and critical thinking.

Infographic and time spent on social media

The Complex Impact of Social Media Use

According to a 2023 US Surgeon General’s Report, social media usage has been connected to some positive effects on adolescents, including:

Improved feelings of acceptance and connectedness
Providing a creative outlet
Connection to social support

However, the wealth of research showing the negative impacts of cellphone and social media use on adolescent development shows that young people need guidance for developing healthy online lives.

From Scroll to Self-Control: Addressing Student Screen Time

Explore activities to help students unplug, refocus, and boost real-world engagement

Help students understand their digital footprint and how screen time affects their learning and well-being. Wayfinder supports students by building future-ready skills, like digital literacy, which leads to more intentional device use and increased engagement in and out of the classroom.

Address student screen time with activities that improve digital literacy skills and encourage responsible technology use. Get the Addressing Student Screen Time Activity Pack below!

“They’re Going to be Wayfinders” Helping Students Navigate Life with AI

Discover Wayfinder’s approach to teaching AI literacy in school to prepare students for today's modern world shaped by uncertainty and opportunity.

Click here to read the full article.

In the age of addictive tech, we must teach young people digital discernment

Digital discernment is the work of connecting a Why to our digital lives and developing a greater awareness of how that digital life impacts our offline one.

How to manage cellphones in schools: 6 tips from teens

To give educators a fresh perspective about the benefits and drawbacks of cellphones in schools, students were asked what they think would work best.

See six tips from teens on how to manage cellphones in schools.

Cellphone bans spread in schools amid growing mental health worries

Students returning to school are facing tighter restrictions or outright bans on cellphone use as it becomes more evident that phones have damaging impacts and can distract from learning.

Learn more about these new cellphone policies.

Parents want cellphones in the classroom. Here's why.

More than half of parents said they want their children to have their phones so they can reach their kids or find out where they are during the day, when needed.