Developing solutions for a healthy digital balance

On Saturday, 13 June, we held our first BootStRaP Mini Bootcamp with eight students from Stammheim, KZU Bülach, and Wohlen. The aim of the event was to engage participants in discussions about their perspectives on problematic internet use (PUI), to better understand their experiences, to co-develop ideas for fostering healthy digital media use, and to get to know each other.

During two interactive workshops, participants generated a range of creative ideas to promote a healthier digital balance. These included developing a personal "dopamine menu" of rewarding offline activities and introducing voluntary screen-time limits secured with passwords managed by friends or siblings. The students also discussed what they believe adults should better understand about adolescents' digital media use.

One of the key insights was that adolescents generally understand adults' concerns about digital media use. At the same time, they expressed a strong desire for greater trust, open and respectful communication, and meaningful involvement in establishing rules around digital media use. They emphasized that rules developed collaboratively are more likely to be accepted than restrictions imposed unilaterally.

We would like to sincerely thank all participants for their openness, creativity, and engaging discussions. We look forward to continuing to work together with young people as we shape the next steps of the BootStRaP project.

The BootStRaP-Team