What is digital wellbeing, what does it have to do with career success, and what should we be doing about it? I interviewed Lifelong Wellbeing Health Promotion Specialist, Dr. Palani Te (who goes by “Te”), to find out more.
Sara: What is digital wellbeing?
Te: Digital well-being is super interesting for our office (GatorWell). I think definitely from the relationship side it’s about navigating intentional usage and boundaries with digital technology. In presentations, I talk about how finding “balance” with tech really means being purposeful—going into usage with a goal. So instead of doom-scrolling Instagram for hours, it’s “Hey, I want to check Instagram to catch up with friends.” When you attach sort of meaning, intention, a priority at the start, it becomes easier to draw boundaries. It’s about having intention and then navigating that relationship, just like all the other relationships in our lives.
Sara: How does that relate to academic or career success?
Te: It became especially challenging after the pandemic. So many students are learning online, and on that same screen they’re texting, shopping, watching Netflix. It’s hard to figure out, what am I supposed to be doing in this moment, when your environment hasn’t physically changed. That challenge doesn’t go away after graduation. Most workplaces rely heavily on tech, and especially with remote or hybrid jobs, that same balancing act follows you. Like for me, I’ll play chess on a break, but then I have to ask, how do I ensure that that doesn’t run the rest of my day? It’s about staying focused, yes, but also recognizing that even helpful breaks can stretch into unproductive habits.
Sara: How does digital wellbeing affect relationships?
Te: That’s the name of the game right now. So much of our socializing happens online—through dating apps, messaging, gaming. I don’t think it’s inherently bad; it’s just different. What’s important is applying the same principles from face-to-face relationships—like communication and boundaries—to online spaces. Right now, expectations are a little bit different, and people act differently when they’re online. So navigating that—especially when trying to build something meaningful—takes work.
Sara: Have you noticed changes in how people socialize?
Te: There’s research saying younger generations are struggling socially, but I push back on that a bit. In-person interaction might feel less natural to them, but they’re incredible at building online communities. For them, “hanging out” might mean a Zoom call or FaceTime, not meeting at a coffee shop. That intrinsically makes for expectations to be different, makes for socializing behaviors to be different. It’s not worse, just different.
Sara: I’ve noticed more difficulty with conflict resolution—like everything feels like a big deal. Could digital communication play a role in that?
Te: I think it could. I don’t want to say “dramatification” because that minimizes people’s experiences, but I do think so many of the familiar patterns that they have with communication ties itself to… tone. Online, tone is often missing or misunderstood. When you aren’t exposed to subtle cues like body language or voice inflection, it makes conflict in real life harder to navigate. People might focus on the literal words more than the context or delivery.
Sara: There’s so much more to explore here. This whole blog series is going to teach me a lot.
Te: Yeah! It actually reminds me of a conversation I had with a musician friend. She was saying how music used to be something you actively participated in—going to concerts, playing instruments. Now, it’s so digitized that music has become passive. You can listen to anything at any time without being part of a musical community. That same passivity may be happening with communication. They don’t have to cognitively engage in the same way previous generations might have.
Sara: That’s a great comparison, though access does have upsides—people discovering music or cultures they wouldn’t have found otherwise.
Te: For sure. The internet, as wonderful and problematic as it has been, has been able to foster such… community in a way nothing else has. Hank Green compared it to the radio—where you could suddenly hear someone outside your city. The internet lets you connect with anyone on the planet. But that also means physically making community might prove more difficult because of lack of experience. One of my friends who teaches voice calls it the “globalization of music.” She had a student in rural Florida singing reggaeton—without knowing what reggaeton even was. So much is gained there, and so much is missing.
Sara: So, what does it mean to be well—or unwell—digitally?
Te: I constantly battle with these questions. Students often ask, “What does good time management look like?” or “What does emotional wellbeing look like?” And honestly, rather than chasing some sort of status, i.e. I am digitally well, I think it’s more about the process. Asking things like: Is my privacy being affected? Am I respecting communication? Am I presenting myself the way I want to in these online spaces? That self-reflection is what digital wellbeing really looks like.
Sara: So it’s not a finish line—it’s ongoing.
Te: Exactly. And it’s personal. Asking yourself the question is an indication of progress. I’ve been thinking a lot about how we don’t expect metrics for other dimensions of wellness—like environmental wellbeing—but we expect them for digital wellbeing. Is it screen time? Social media use? The truth is, it’s different for everyone.
Sara: And being “well” for one person might look totally different for someone else.
Te: Right. One of my old football coaches used to say, “You only know that you start to get good when you start forcing yourself to try to be better.” That stuck with me. Same goes for digital wellbeing—you’re not “good at it,” but when you’re trying to improve, that’s where the growth is.
Sara: So what are your top tips for digital wellbeing?
Te: I’ve got a few:
1. Write out comments and let them sit. Social media is designed to trigger emotion. If I write a comment, I leave it for a few minutes (or longer), then ask myself, “Do I still want to post this?” If the answer isn’t a firm yes, I don’t post it.
2. Be intentional with privacy. I’m seeing a lot of “first day of school” posts with names, schools, or personal interests. That’s a lot of info to share. We don’t need to do that. Online spaces that anyone can see like that… can get a little scary. Blur details. Use nicknames. Keep personal info out of view.
3. Avoid sharing your location or identifiable backgrounds. Apartment interiors, license plates, or even club photos with GPS tags—just be cautious. Be a little bit intentional about filters, blur outs, editing.
4. Try delayed posting. There’s no rush to share your night out during the night out. Post in the morning. No one’s checking to make sure you posted immediately. Bonus: morning posts usually get more traction anyway!
If you are looking to make a change in your wellbeing habits and behaviors, check out wellness coaching from GatorWell!
