Technology and Values

Welcome to the last Tammy’s Teaching Tidbit of the 2023-2024 school year! This week’s topic is technology and values.

Everyone possesses personal values. (Some examples entail kindness, honesty, creativity, achievement, and family.) While values begin forming during the adolescence years, they will change throughout people’s lifetimes. Values come from numerous sources, including family and friends, cultural expectations, both negative and positive experiences, and images of what it means to live a meaningful and good life (Allenby, 2015).

The activities people partake in can support or hinder their personal values. Especially in first world countries, technology and media consumption can influence personal values both negatively and positively!

Digital Well-Being 

Values tie into digital well-being. Healthy digital well-being occurs when media and technology use supports participants’ mental, physical, and emotional health (Ehehalt, Gurbada, and Thotz, 2024). Cyberbullying would lead to poor digital well-being, as well as hinder the values of kindness, respect, and compassion. Spreading accurate information about a charity or humanitarian cause would aid in practicing healthy digital well-being. Additionally, this employment of technology, and most likely social media, supports values of altruism, equity, and empathy. Part of digital well-being entails learners knowing how and when to use different types of technology for an intended purpose. (Common Sense Education offers K-12 lessons pertaining to digital well-being.)

Constant Companion Study 

The Constant Companion study, conducted by Common Sense Education, found that 11-to 17-year-olds spend an average of 43 minutes on their phones during the school day. These same students receive over 237 digital notifications daily (Ehehalt, Gurbada, and Thotz, 2024). There is a nearly unceasing desire to be digitally connected to others. This generation is a part of the second digital divide. They grew up surrounded by technology, especially computerized tech. However, being able to use these devices ethically is a learned, instead of innate, skill (Burns and Gottschalk, 2019).

Values Often Linked to Technology

Regardless of how many science fiction novels and televised series portray it as such, technology is not a force of evil. Truthfully, any tool—and technological advances are merely tools—can be used productively or destructively. Numerous personal values can easily be intertwined with technology, including innovation, enquiry, curiosity, diversity, equity, communication, respect, and integrity (Technology, n.d; Weinberg, 2019). (Much of the Digital Citizenship concept in North Dakota’s Library Media Content Standards addresses how to use technology in ways that align to values that better the world and better interpersonal relationships.) Whether tech is utilized for virtue or for malice comes down to its users. People should reflect upon how technology can add fulfillment to lives without forgoing human values.

A Few Things to Consider 

1. Discuss with pupils their own values and how these principles tie into technology use. Lists of core values—resource one, two, and three—can assist in igniting these conversations.
2. Evaluate if your technology usage aligns with your values. For example, if you value physical activity but regularly find yourself scrolling through your phone on the couch, how can you change that habit to one that better aligns with your ideals? On the other hand, if you view generosity as one of your values, what charitable causes possess a social media presence?
3. Determine if problems need a human solution or a tech solution. For instance, handing an upset child a tablet will not provide any sort of long-term assistance. However, talking to that child in a caring, but firm, way can be an excellent method for teaching values such as self-regulation and communication.

Goodbye, For Now! 

Have a fantastic summer! NDSL staff, myself included, will be available during the break should you have any questions or concerns for your libraries or licensure.

References 

Allenby, B. (2015, March 4). Choose at your own risk: How technology is changing our choices and the values that help us make them. Slate. https://slate.com/technology/2015/03/how-technology-is-changing-our-choices-and-values.html.

Burns, T., and Gottschalk, F. (Eds.). (2019). Educating 21^st century children: Emotional well-being in the digital age. OECD.

Ehehalt, J., Gurbada, J., and Thotz, S. (2024, May 15). Values and tech: Fostering a positive digital culture in your school [Webinar]. edWeb. https://media.edweb.net/edWebinar/?view=20240515edwebnet16.

Technology and values (n.d.). Te Kete Ipurangi. https://technology.tki.org.nz/Technology-in-the-NZC/Technology-and-values#:~:text=Technology%20and%20values%20education,the%20values%20of%20the%20future.

Weinberg, M. (2019, May). Technology, values, and the shaping of social reality. https://bahaiworld.bahai.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/technology-values-shaping-social-reality.pdf.