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'Happiness workshop' looks to tackle digital addictions

Participants tackle issues such as excessive digital use and comparison to others that lead to the Joy of Missing Out (JOMO) as opposed to the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)
Digital addictions

If you’ve ever felt lost down a YouTube hole, obsessively checked your likes on that Instagram photo of perfect avocado toast or just can’t stop catching up on Stranger Things before Halloween, you might have a problem. 

But that’s OK. The first step to kicking a bad habit is admitting you have one in the first place.

Now Telus — yes, part of that internet hand feeding your digital addiction — wants to help. 

In support of World Mental Health Day, the B.C.-based telecommunications company is offering free digital workshops to equip teens in Grades 9 through 12 with tools to ensure a healthy digital diet. In what Telus calls “the happiness workshop,” participants tackle issues such as excessive digital use and comparison to others that lead to “the Joy of Missing Out (JOMO) as opposed to the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO).”

“There is growing concern that children are increasingly living virtual lives through online technologies, which could potentially limit their learning and development in the real world,” said Joe Flanders, an assistant professor in psychology at McGill University. Flanders, who, along with Yale professor of psychology Laurie Santos, helped develop the workshop, according to a press release. 

The happiness workshop is available online and face-to-face, hosted in-person by a Telus Wise Ambassador. The online workshop can be completed individually, or as a group, such as in a classroom setting.

Other workshops provide resources to protect your online security, privacy and reputation, as well as give you tips to rise above cyberbullying and use technology responsibly.