What is wellness and why it is important?
Wellness is a way of doing daily habits to improve your physical and mental health. These habits include taking part in various activities that are good for your body and health, this could be exercising, going for a jog, doing yoga,....etc. However, wellness can also be broken down further into many different categories, and these are Spiritual wellness, Physical wellness, Emotional wellness, Social wellness,...etc. Wellness is very important because it keeps our bodies in a good and healthy condition. It does that by balancing our physical activities, nutrition, and mental well-being. Wellness is very important as we get older because exercising regularly and getting proper nutrition will prevent us from a variety of alignment and things such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, and other related issues (“Top 5 ways technology can boost worker wellbeing - Employee health & benefits”).
Spiritual wellness - enables you to make sacrifices for others and for a great purpose.
Physical wellness - involves knowing your lifestyle and Maintaining body health.
Emotional wellness - enables you to be aware of and accept one’s feelings and emotions.
Social wellness - How well you socialize with the people around you and the community you live in.
How can technology and digital tools enhance wellness?
We are living in the 4th industrial revolution, a digital world where technology is the core center of everything. With that being said, digital technology can help enhance our well-being by promoting healthier lifestyles, enabling us to create a healthier environment, and treating diseases and sicknesses. In order for them to enhance wellness, digital technology needs to be designed in a way that its function will be able to meet and delivers the end user’s needs. Its aim should be to limit inequalities in access to care, and it needs to be able to help manage the cost of care for people of all age groups. These lead to digital health and wellness which mainly focuses on how to establish and maintain a great relationship with technology. This means that we as people need to be in control of the technology that we have access to and find new ways for digital devices to work for our well-being instead of them being dictators in our lives. There are digital tools that can help with our well-being, examples are Headspace, clue, noom, exhale, and many more.
Headspace - a Meditation and mindfulness application. I would recommend this platform if you are someone who needs to meditate or needs a way to increase your spiritual health.
Clue - Swot up on your cycle with the period-tracking app Clue, and learn more about how your period affects you. I would recommend using this app if you want to track the amount of time you spend on the line, and if you want to find a way to limit the time you spend on social media or any digital platforms.
Noom - weight loss program, focuses on changing behaviors, rather than cutting out foods and following an intense fitness schedule. I would recommend this if you would like to get some exercise and want to lose weight.
Exhale - it inspires self-care, mindfulness, and rests through content, it also includes meditations, coaching talks, affirmations, guided visualizations, and breath work. This application is great for those who want to learn about self-care, get advice from coaches, and those who want to do breath work to enhance their emotional, physical, and spiritual health.
What are the risks to wellness in a digital society or economy?
It’s no secret that living in a digital world has a lot of advantages that come with it, however for every positive side of something, there is always the negative side. And in the case of wellness in a digital society, they are risks that come with it such as the fact that it may lead to psychological and physical issues. These issues could contribute to more serious health conditions, such as depression and the overuse of technology have a more significant impact on teenagers as they grow up. Digital platforms like social media problems such as eyestrain and difficulty focusing on important tasks. Studies show that people between the age of 18-30 who overuse social platforms are more likely to feel isolated than those who spend less time on social media. Digital platforms can also cause other emotional problems such as depression and anxiety which can lead to mental health issues. As for physical issues, too much screen time will result in eyestrains, and this is mainly happening if your screen is too bright, too much screen time and if you have underlining vision issues. One of the most common issues that people experience when using digital platforms is musculoskeletal issues, and this is mainly caused when you maintain a bad posture (Minnis).
“Wellness is not a ‘medical fix’ but a way of living – a lifestyle sensitive and responsive to all the dimensions of body, mind, and spirit, an approach to life we each design to achieve our highest potential for well-being now and forever.”
- Greg Anderson
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