The Impact of Digital Education Tools on the Well-being of Secondary School Students

Abstract

Background: The relevance of scientific research on the impact of digital devices on the well-being of schoolchildren is proved by high prevalence rates of school-related diseases in secondary school students. Our objective was to study various aspects of schoolchildren's vital activities associated with the use of digital devices and to assess their influence on the well-being of teenagers. Materials and methods: In 2019, we conducted an anonymous questionnaire- based survey of 121 sixth to ninth graders (13–15 years of age) of a Moscow school. Results: In 70.0% of the teenagers, a long-term use of digital devices was accompanied by various subjective health complaints including visual disturbances, musculoskeletal disorders attributed to excessive static loads, and nervous system disorders caused by information overload. We observed significant changes in life activities of the respondents: up to 39.0% reported going to bed after midnight and almost 70.0% reported sleeping less than 8 hours; we also noted a general decrease in the amount of time spent outdoors. Less than 32% of the school teens observed the rules of a safe use of digital devices. Conclusions: Two and more hours of using a tablet or a laptop on school days were typical of 39.0%–47.0% of the teenagers while on weekends the rate of those using the laptop more than 4 hours daily increased by 3.6 times. More than half of adolescents (up to 55.7%) reported four or more hours of a smartphone use daily. Sleep disturbances were more frequent among smartphone than in personal computer users (31.7% against 17.0%, p<0.05). Our findings indicate the necessity to pay serious attention to organization of rational leisure activities of adolescents and availability of various attractive forms of physical activity in order to reduce risks of health disorders. Development of sustainable safety skills and culture of the digital device use at school and at home remains relevant among schoolchildren.