Special Report

Technology & Student Wellness: How Tech, SEL, and Mental Health Are Now Linked

Technology Counts 2024
March 25, 2024
Custom illustration of a young female student in a meditative pose floating above a cell phone. She is surrounded by floating books and wide range of emotions reflected by different emojis. Digital / techie textures applied to the background.
Taylor Callery for Education Week
The intersection of technology and social and emotional issues for kids is getting much busier. Students are now using social media sites like TikTok to diagnose themselves with anxiety and other mental health challenges. Counselors and teachers see more kids spend countless hours on social media—and then hear them complain they feel exhausted and lonely. And there are rising concerns that AI could fuel youth tech addiction and cyberbullying. 

But technology, when used appropriately, can improve students' well-being. It can help students strengthen existing relationships, connect with a wider variety of people and perspectives, and destigmatize mental health challenges.

This special report examines how schools are trying to put student wellness front and center in a digital world.