Digital Wellbeing Glossary

Digital wellbeing glossary is created by Consciously Digital Institute team to explain the key terms in digital wellbeing and help fight common misconceptions. It is constantly updated. If you are interested in understanding what's behind these terms and getting certified as a digital wellbeing professional, please check our Digital Wellbeing Certification program.

A

ADDICTION: Digital addiction, smartphone addiction, internet addiction, Facebook addiction etc

Digital addiction (like smartphone or social media addiction) is when someone feels a strong urge to use digital devices so much that it starts harming their daily life — affecting sleep, work, or relationships. Unlike a bad habit, addiction takes over: the person's thoughts, emotions, and routines start to revolve around the behavior, and stopping feels hard or even distressing.

It's important to note that addiction is not officially recognized in medical manuals like the DSM-5 or ICD-11, though gaming disorder is. Some countries, like South Korea, do treat digital addiction seriously and use their own tools to assess it. Researchers have also developed app-specific tools like the Facebook Addiction Scale or Smartphone Addiction Scale, but these are mainly used in studies, not clinical diagnoses. Addiction cannot be cured by coaching or using any kind of apps — it is treated by CBT, medicine, and change of environment. In spite of media frequently using the term addiction, it is more correct to speak about 'problematic internet behaviour' or 'poor digital habits' than addiction for most people.

Addiction is widely seen as an unhealthy adaptation mechanism - in other words, a person is trying to cope with something in the environment and in response to it develops addiction. Most treatment methods of any addiction are based on replacing addiction with a "healthy obsession" rather than eliminating it or fully abstaining.

B

BLUE LIGHT

Blue light is a type of light that comes from screens, LED lamps, and digital devices. It’s very strong and has short wavelengths, which can affect how our body works — especially when we’re exposed to it for long periods. One of the main problems is that blue light slows down the work of mitochondria, the parts of our cells that create energy (ATP). When ATP levels drop, we feel more tired, less focused, and weaker. Blue light can also raise blood sugar levels, increase heart rate, and lower blood pressure — especially if we sit a lot and don’t get enough natural sunlight. It is also shown to delay or reduce the evening production of melatonin, the sleep hormone.

On the other hand, red light — like the kind from natural sunlight (especially in the early morning or late afternoon) — helps mitochondria work better. It boosts ATP production, supports energy levels, and helps the body use glucose more effectively. One study found that just 15 minutes of red light exposure at 670 nm lowered blood sugar spikes by nearly 28%. This shows that natural light has powerful effects on how we feel and function.

Also, blue light–blocking glasses mostly protect the eyes, but they don’t block blue light from hitting the skin or the rest of the body — and research doesn’t show big health benefits from using them. So the best approach is to take screen breaks, get outside in the sunlight, and find a better balance between screen time and real-world light.

C

CYBER BULLYING

Cyberbullying is when someone uses the internet to hurt, threaten, or embarrass others — often through social media or games. It can happen anytime, spread fast, and cause serious emotional harm. Around 1 in 3 teens worldwide have experienced cyberbullying (UNICEF). In the U.S. alone, 36% of teens aged 12–17 report being cyberbullied (Pew, 2022). Emotional harm can be long-lasting, but it's difficult to prosecute it by law - these vary by country and often don’t clearly define or punish cyberbullying (and the platform can be based in a completely different territory).

Children often admit that they are afraid of telling parents they have been cyberbullied because they are afraid parents will take away internet from them altogether. Thus, it's very important to proactively start conversation about cyberbullying early.

Explain what that is and that it’s okay to talk about uncomfortable experiences online.
Listen without judgment. If your child opens up, stay calm and supportive — don’t overreact or blame them.
Empower, don’t shame. Teach them how to block, report, and document harmful behavior (i.e. take screenshots). Make sure they know it’s not their fault.
Explain them what to do if they witness someone else being cyberbullied (report to school/parents, call hotline).
Encourage digital empathy. Help kids understand how their words affect others, even online.

D

DIGITAL DETOX

Digital detoxes have become increasingly popular as an antidote to an ever-increasing pace of the modern lifestyle. They vary from temporary disconnection (offered for example by Offline Club) to blocking specific websites or app (Opal, Forest), or simply abstaining from using certain types of websites (for example, social media) or limiting the time one spends on them, using 'dubmphones' (Nokia, Mudita, Light Phone) or going fully 'cold turkey' on a technology-free retreat (Unplugged, Logout Livenow etc).

There is mixed evidence whether digital detoxes work. Generally, they show good effect "in the moment" and right after - reducing stress, improving mood etc (typically from 1 day to 1 week). However, long-term benefits aren't obvious. Relapse is common: Many people go back to old habits quickly after the detox ends. If detoxes don't address underlying behavior patterns or emotional needs (e.g., using phones to cope with loneliness or boredom), without structural changes, effects are short-lived. Studies show that heavy users sometimes experience withdrawal-like symptoms: irritability, boredom, anxiety.

We do think that a digital detox can be a great way to kick-start your digital well-being journey, however to make the effects long-lasting, you will need to follow other practices.

Sustained digital wellbeing comes from:

Understanding your inner drivers and motivation
Mindful, intentional use
Redesigning habits and environments
Setting boundaries that last beyond the detox

Digital 'nutrition' or 'digital hygiene' might work better if you want a sustainable result. Instead of "all or nothing", aim for tech-free zones (e.g., bedroom, dinner table), scheduled screen breaks, replacing passive scrolling with active hobbies, prioritizing things that make you happy outside of the screens, physical activities and fixing your sleep.

F

FOMO: Fear of Missing Out

FOMO, or "Fear of Missing Out," is the anxious feeling that others are having rewarding experiences without you. It often happens when you see people online going to events, achieving things, or having fun, and you feel left out or like you're falling behind. This is especially triggered when you see a perfect picture of someone on social media.

FOMO often comes from a deep human need to belong, be included, and feel connected - so essentially it is an unmet need. Other reasons include low self-esteem, social comparison, and the constant exposure to curated highlights of other people's lives, especially on social media, which can make our own lives feel less exciting in comparison. FOMO has been shown to correlate with increased social media consumption and anxiety and depression.

It is important to understand that FOMO is not a disease itself, it is just a bigger symptom of what is going on with the person.

J

Jevon's Paradox: why using more tech tools doesn't free up your time

William Jevon was a 19th century economist who observed the following effect: the more efficient we become at using a resource, the more we end up consuming it. The more tools we introduce - calendars, task managers, AI agents, focus apps - the more we think we're optimizing our time. But in reality, we’re just expanding the volume of work we’re expected to handle. In simple words - the very tools that promise to save our time often accelerate our pace, inflate expectations, and leave us feeling like we’re falling behind. Read more about Jevon's Paradox here.

S

Screen time (also - How much screen time is too much?)

Contrary to the popular media narrative, screen time per se is not the sign of digital addiction, nor is it a reliable predictor of well-being or lack thereof. Large-scale studies (e.g., Orben & Przybylski, 2019; Twenge et al.) found very small or inconsistent associations between screen time and mental health problems in teens and adults. Some negative effects were found, but often accounted for less than 1% of variation in outcomes like anxiety or depression.

It matters much more, what people are doing on their screens. For example, if screens are used actively (i.e. creating content, education, video conversations) it might have a better effect than passive scrolling through social media or binge-watching.

The main thing we recommend paying attention to, whether for adults or kids, is what the screen time replaces. For example, it should not replace daily movement, sleep, live social interactions, or meal times (researchers agree that eating in front of the screens does not help anyone).

Research suggests that in young children (under age 5), high screen use has been linked to delays in language and cognitive development because of the lack of myelination — particularly when it's unsupervised or replaces active play and interaction. The following recommendations for parents are a good starting point to understand how much screen time is too much - and what type of screen time is ok for your child.

There is no universal "safe" or "harmful" amount — individual differences and context matter a lot.

Z

ZEIGARNIK EFFECT

The Zeigarnik Effect is a psychological phenomenon where your brain tends to fixate on unfinished tasks - keeping them active in your mind and creating a sense of mental tension until they’re completed or resolved. The Zeigarnik Effect explains why digital overload is mentally exhausting.

Research by Bluma Zeigarnik in the 1920s showed that people remember uncompleted tasks better than completed ones, but creating a plan reduces the cognitive load of the uncompleted task.

In a digital context, this plays out constantly: unread emails and messages, open browser tabs, ongoing conversations on Whatsapp and notifications you haven’t checked, apps you meant to use "later" create a mental open loop — and your brain treats them as unresolved.
Over time, they accumulate and lead to mental fatigue, reduced focus, chronic stress and difficulty relaxing. One way to overcome the Zeigarnik effect is to do regular 'decluttering' of your digital life - for example, deleting emails and newsletters you will never read, reducing amount of use you are reading daily, not combining several digital activities at once (i.e. stop multitasking). It helps you move from a constant state of “unfinished” to one of clarity and calm.