---
title: Digital Wellness Guide for K–12 Schools | Wayfinder
description: Help K–12 students build healthy habits with social media, AI, and technology. Get research, expert insights, and sample lessons in Wayfinder’s new guide.
image: https://pages.withwayfinder.com/hubfs/Icons/Map%20Icon%20-%20Green.png
---
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© Wayfinder, 2023
# A Guide for School + District Leaders to Ensure Digital Wellness in K-12 Schools
Help students build the human skills to make intentional choices about social media, AI, and technology
Research shows that teens who spend 3+ hours a day on social media face [twice the risk of anxiety and depression](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2749480). Time limits alone won’t change that. Students also need human skills such as self-awareness and agency to manage their digital lives independently.
That’s where digital wellness comes in. Our new guide, **Ensuring Digital Wellness in K-12 Schools**, takes you from research to action:
- **Research** on how social media and AI affect student learning and well-being
- **Why** AI is making human skills more valuable, not less
- **What experts** at Brookings + Yale say students need now
- **Actionable** lessons and activities for grades 3-12
Technology isn’t going anywhere. Let’s teach students the skills to use it with intention, instead of letting it use them.
**Fill out the form to get our guide: Ensuring Digital Wellness in K-12 Schools.**
.png?width=500&height=500&name=Icons%20(9).png)
## Student Digital Wellness FAQs:
##### What is digital wellness in K-12 schools?
Digital wellness is the intentional, healthy, and balanced relationship between a person and their digital life. It addresses how technology affects well-being, sleep, self-image, relationships, and behavior, and gives students the agency and self-awareness to manage those effects.
##### What is the difference between digital literacy, digital discernment, and digital wellness?
Digital literacy is the ability to navigate, evaluate, and create within the digital world.
Digital discernment is the capacity to navigate the digital world with direction, integrity, and purpose.
Digital wellness is a healthy, balanced relationship with technology that supports students’ well-being.
Learn more about the difference in our blog, [Digital Discernment vs Digital Literacy: Everything Educators Need to Know](https://blog.withwayfinder.com/digital-discernment-vs-digital-literacy?hsLang=en).
##### How does social media affect students?
The average teen spends [3.5 hours a day](https://blog.withwayfinder.com/we-must-teach-young-people-digital-discernment?hsLang=en) on social media, and teens who spend 3+ hours a day face [twice the risk of anxiety and depression](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2749480). At the same time, [80% of teens](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/04/24/teens-and-social-media-key-findings-from-pew-research-center-surveys/) say social media helps them feel more connected to their friends’ lives. That’s why Wayfinder focuses on [teaching digital discernment](https://blog.withwayfinder.com/faq-digital-discernment-ai-in-education?hsLang=en), not just limiting screen time.
##### How can schools prepare students for an AI-driven future?
Human skills are becoming more valuable as AI grows. Cornerstone’s 2026 Skills Economy Report found [demand for emotional intelligence rose 95%](https://www.forbes.com/sites/markcperna/2026/02/03/mastering-the-most-valuable-professional-skills-of-2026/). Brookings’ [Rebecca Winthrop points to motivation and engagement](https://blog.withwayfinder.com/helping-students-navigate-life-with-ai?hsLang=en) as key to helping students keep learning as technology changes. [Learn more about how Wayfinder can support future-ready skill building here](https://www.withwayfinder.com/).
##### What is included in Wayfinder’s digital wellness guide?
Ensuring Digital Wellness in K-12 Schools includes research on how social media and AI affect students, insights from experts at Brookings and Yale, and sample lessons and activities for grades 3-12 that build [self-awareness, agency, collaboration, and adaptability](https://www.withwayfinder.com/why-wayfinder/what-students-learn).
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