Digital Habits that Destroy our Health

Topic: Digital Habits That Destroy Our Health

Level: B1-B2

Age: 15-17 years

Lesson length: 75-90 minutes

Approach: Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), Task-Based Learning (TBL), Critical Thinking

 

1. Lesson Information

Topic: Digital Habits That Destroy Our Health

 

Language focus:

• Vocabulary related to technology and health
• Speaking: expressing opinions, giving advice
• Reading for gist and detail
• Functional language for recommendations
• Present Simple, Present Continuous, modal verbs (should, shouldn’t, ought to, need to)

 

2. Learning Objectives

By the end of the lesson students will be able to:

              Language objectives

              Students can:

• understand and use vocabulary connected with digital wellbeing
• explain seven modern digital habits
• discuss the effects of technology on physical and mental health
• give advice using the modal verbs
• express agreement and disagreement politely.

 

Content objectives

 

Students will:

• recognize healthy digital habits;
• evaluate their own technology use;
• suggest healthier alternatives.

 

              21^st Century Skills

• Critical Thinking
• Collaboration
• Communication
• Self-awareness
• Digital literacy.

 

3. Success Criteria

 

Students can:

• explain at least five digital habits;
• identify their consequences;
• participate in a discussion using target vocabulary;
• give practical advice;
• reflect on their own digital behaviour.

 

4. Key Vocabulary

• tech neck
• revenge bedtime procrastination
• dinescreening
• doomscrolling
• bed rotting
• notification brain
• phubbing

                  

              Additional vocabulary:

• posture
• distraction
• addiction
• anxiety
• concentration
• screen time
• notifications
• social media feed
• digital wellbeing
• mental health

5. Materials

• Habit cards
• Matching worksheet
• Discussion cards
• Exit ticket
• Whiteboard
• Phones (optional for survey)

 

6. Lesson Procedure

1. Warm-up (8 minutes)

         Activity: “How digital are you?”

         Students answer:

 

How many hours do you spend on your phone every day?

 

Choose one:

•         Less than 2
•         2-4
•         4-6
•         More than 6

 

Than discuss:

•         What’s the first thing do you do after waking up?
•         How often do you check your phone?
•         Could you live without it one day?

 

Lead-in question:

Can technology become unhealthy?

 

2. Vocabulary Discovery (12 minutes)

Activity: Match the habit with the definition

 

Students work in pairs.

 

Habit	Definition
Tech neck	Neck pain caused by looking down at devices for a long time.
Revenge bedtime procrastination	Staying awake late to enjoy free time despite being tired.
Doomscreening	Continuously reading negative news online.
Dinescreening	Looking at phone while eating.
Bed rotting	Staying in bed for long periods scrolling or watching content.
Notification brain	Feeling the need to check every notification immediately.
Phubbing	Ignoring people around you because of your phone.

 

Pronunciation practice.

 

3. Reading (10 minutes)

     Activity: “Which habit is it?”

 

     Students read seven short paragraphs and identify them.

 

Text 1

Every evening Sofia tells herself she will go to bed at 10:30 p.m. She knows she has school the next morning, but after finishing her homework, she feels that the evening is the only time she has for herself. She starts watching YouTube videos, than checks Instagram, and suddenly it is 1:30 a.m. The next day, she feels exhausted but repeats the same routine.

 

Answer: Revenge bedtime procrastination.

Discussion questions:

•         Why does Sofia stay up late?
•         How could this affect her health and school performance?

 

Text 2

Mark spends nearly eight hours a day using his laptop and phone. He often bends his head forward while texting or watching videos. Recently, he has started feeling pain in his neck and shoulders. His doctor tells him that his posture is causing the problem and recommends taking breaks and holding his phone at eye level.

 

Answer: Tech neck.

Discussion questions:

•         What causes Mark`s pain?
•         What can he do to prevent it?

 

Text 3

Whenever Anna hears her phone buzz, she immediately stops what she is doing to check it. Even if she is studying, talking to a friend, or eating dinner, she feels anxious until she reads the message. Sometimes she even thinks she hears a notification when her phone is completely silent.

 

Answer: Notification brain.

Discussion questions:

•         Why is Anna distracted so easily?
•         How might constant notifications affect concentration?

 

Text 4

Tom enjoys having dinner with his family, but there is one problem. As soon as the food arrives, every one picks up a phone. They scroll through social media, reply to messages, or watch short videos instead of talking to each other. The meal finishes quickly, but no one remembers what they talked about- because they hardly talked at all.

 

Answer: Dinescreening.

Discussion questions:

•         How does technology change family meals?
•         What could this family do differently?

 

Text 5

Whenever Olivia opens a new app, she plans to read one article. However she keeps finding more stories about disasters, wars, accidents, and other upsetting events. An hour later, she feels stressed and worried, but she still cannot stop scrolling.

 

Answer: Doomscrolling.

Discussion questions:

•         Why is Olivia unable to stop reading?
•         How can too much negative news affect mental health?

 

Text 6

It is Saturday morning, and Daniel decides to stay in bed “just for a few minutes”.  He watches funny videos, checks social media, and plays games without getting up. Hours pass before he finally leaves his room. He hasn`t eaten breakfast, exercised, or met his friends, and he feels even less motivated than before.

 

Answer: Bed rotting.

Discussion questions:

•         Why does Daniel stay in bed for so long?
•         What healthier choices could he make?

 

Text 7

Lucy meets her best friend at a cafe after not seeing each other for several weeks. While her friend is talking about an important problem, Lucy keeps looking at her phone and replying to messages. Her friend becomes upset because she feels ignored and unimportant.

 

Answer: Phubbing.

Discussion questions:

•         Why is Lucy behaviour rude?
•         How can phones affect real-life relationships?

 

 

4. Speaking (15 minutes)

Activity: Health Detectives

 

Students receive situation cards.

 

Situation 1

Your friend spends three hours reading bed news every evening.

 

•         What habit is it?
•         What advice would you give?

 

Situation 2

A student checks every notification during lessons.

 

•         What habit is it?
•         How can they improve?

 

Situation 3

Your family eats dinner with phones on the table.

 

•         What habit is it?
•         How could family meals change?

 

Situation 4

Someone stays awake until 2 a.m. watching TicTok every night.

 

•         What habit is it?
•         What are the consequences?

 

Situation 5

A teenager spends the whole Sunday in bed watching Netflix

 And scrolling through Instagram.

 

•         What habit is it?
•         What healthier activities could they do?

 

Situation 6

Your friend always looks at their phone while you are talking.

 

•         How would you feel?
•         What would you say?

 

Situation 7

I`m having dinner with my family, but everyone is looking at their phones.

 

•         What habit is it?
•         Why is ir unhealthy?
•         What advice would you give?

 

Target language:

•        You should…
•        You shouldn`t…
•        I think…
•        In my opinion…
•        It might…
•        It can cause…

 

5. Group Project (15 minutes)

Activity: Create a Digital Wellness Compaign

 

Groups choose one habit.

Create:

•         a slogan;
•         three facts;
•         three pieces of advice;
•         a poster of infographic;
•         one challenge for classmates.

 

Example:

Doomscrolling

 

Stop scrolling! Start living!

•        Read positive news.
•        Limit screen time.
•        Go outside.

 

Groups present in two minutes.

 

6. Reflection (5 minutes)

     Students complete:

•         Today I descovered …
•         The most dangerous habit is …
•         One habit I want to change is …
•         One thing I`ll do this week is …

 

7. Assessment

      The teacher observes:

•        participation
•        use of vocabulary
•        communication
•        pronunciation
•        Teamwork

 

Exit Ticket

Write:

1. One new word.
2. One unhealthy habit.
3. One healthy alternative.

 

8. Homework (Choose one)

Option A

Keep a Digital Habit Diary for three days.

Record:

•         screen time;
•         unhealthy habits;
•         healthier choices.

 

Option B

Write a 150-word opinion paragraph:

“Which digital habit is the most dangerous for teenagers? Why?”

 

Expected Learning Outcomes

At the end of the lesson students will be able to:

•          Define seven modern digital habits;
•          Explain their impact on physical and mental health;
•          Use topic-specific vocabulary confidently;
•          Recommend healthier digital behaviours;
•          Reflect criticallyon their own digital habits and create practical strategies for improving digital wellbeing.