“I need to listen to myself more”: Online well-being goes from self-care to technology literacy
On August 4, 50 young people between the ages of 15 and 18 participated in an online well-being workshop led by the UNESCO Chair of Communication, Media and Information Literacy and Citizenship (ESCS-IPL), at Escola Superior Agrária de Santarém, of the Polytechnic of Santarém.
This was the opening activity of the second edition of CIS Digital Camp 2025, an initiative of the National Cybersecurity Center/Safe Internet Center (CIS), in partnership with Fórum Estudante.
Participants were challenged to reflect, in small groups, on situations that can bring discomfort or risk on social media and to think of concrete strategies they can use in their lives to preserve their well-being.
They shared a wide range of ideas, from tips on protecting identity and data online – having private accounts and not sharing location, for example – to strategies more related to mental health issues – setting time limits for online time and identifying trusted adults to talk to if needed.
“I realized I need to listen to myself more,” said one of the participants at the end, reinforcing one of the messages shared during the afternoon about the importance of learning to recognize and not ignore discomfort in situations experienced in the digital world.
“We reflected on topics that are part of our daily lives and realized that many of our online challenges are shared,” commented one of the girls in the group, as we can read in this article by Fórum Estudante.
CIS Digital Camp will have more editions throughout the year, in different regions of the country, each dedicated to a topic relevant to young people’s online experiences.
The ESCS-IPL UNESCO Chair also held a workshop in the first edition of the CIS Digital Camp, on cyberbullying, in July, at the Polytechnic University of Lisbon.
