Masterclass 3: Impactful Teaching About Digital Technologies and Social Media in PDHPE
Presented by Karley Beckman – University of Wollongong | Hosted by ACHPER NSW
What does it really mean to prepare young people for a digital world? And how can PDHPE play a more active role in that preparation?
These were the driving questions behind our third masterclass of the year, which unpacked the curriculum, the research, and the reality of teaching digital technologies and social media in PDHPE. Far from being just a wellbeing add-on or IT department problem, digital life is now a core part of what it means to be healthy, safe, and connected as a young person.
Presented by Dr Karley Beckman, a digital wellbeing researcher and senior lecturer at the University of Wollongong, this session challenged assumptions and shared fresh, curriculum-aligned ways to meaningfully engage with students about their digital experiences.
From protection to participation
A common thread throughout the session was the importance of moving beyond a protective mindset. It’s not enough to block, restrict, or surveil—young people need tools, language, and agency to make informed choices about how they engage online.
This shift is more than philosophical. It’s reflected in the updated PDHPE syllabus, which now places greater emphasis on self-regulation, critical health literacy, and ethical decision-making. Digital wellbeing isn’t something we teach about students—it’s something we teach with them.
Teaching the skills we can’t supervise
One of the standout discussions was around self-regulation. If we can’t be with students 24/7 (and we can’t), we need to help them develop the capacity to manage screen time, navigate persuasive tech design, and reflect on their own digital habits.
Karley offered concrete examples of how PDHPE teachers can build these skills into everyday learning. Whether it’s setting boundaries, unpacking motivation, or supporting emotional regulation, self-management in a digital context is a powerful and relevant skillset.
Reframing the research on social media
Teachers often find themselves caught between public concern and classroom reality. This session helped to separate myth from evidence, especially when it comes to the impact of social media on mental health.
Yes, TikTok and YouTube showed clear associations with challenges like insomnia and disordered eating. But most other platforms? No significant mental health impacts based on usage alone. This is important context for any wellbeing conversation—one that demands nuance, not panic.
Game on: How gaming fits in PDHPE
Often overlooked in PDHPE conversations, digital games were positioned as a legitimate lens through which to explore emotional regulation, identity, competence and connection.
Rather than ignoring or banning games, teachers can tap into students’ lived experiences to examine motivation, behaviour, and social dynamics—linking directly to the updated outcomes.
These findings are drawn from the Black Dog Institute’s Teens and Screens report (2024), a national longitudinal study exploring the relationship between social media use and youth mental health. Read the full report here.
The hidden curriculum of tech design
One of the most powerful provocations of the session was this: technology is not neutral.
Students aren’t just choosing how they use digital platforms—those platforms are also shaping them, through persuasive design, algorithmic content, and data tracking. A curriculum that claims to develop critical thinkers and health-literate citizens needs to include these conversations.
Practical links to the curriculum
This masterclass provided clear, actionable ways to embed digital wellbeing in PDHPE programs, including:
- ✔️ Aligning with the General Capabilities: digital literacy, ethical understanding, personal and social capability
- ✔️ Integrating critical digital literacy through the PDHPE strand of health, safety and wellbeing
- ✔️ Addressing curriculum outcomes that harness a strengths based approach to empower young people to navigate risk with positive outcomes on identity, health behaviours and relationships
It also introduced teachers to broader policy changes—like age verification laws and children’s digital rights—that will shape how schools approach tech in the coming years.
Explore further
Ready to dive deeper? These resources were featured throughout the masterclass and offer practical tools, insights, and conversation starters to use in your programming, planning or team discussions:
- 📘 Teens and Screens Report – Black Dog Institute – A comprehensive national report exploring the real relationship between screen time and mental health.
- 🎭 Media Consumers and Creators – Australian Curriculum (v9) – Understand how media literacy connects to general capabilities and health education.
- 🛡️ Key Topics – eSafety Commissioner – A reliable go-to for current issues, facts and advice on youth safety online.
- 🧪 Social Media TestDrive – Cornell University – Interactive simulations to help students build skills and reflect on their digital habits.
- 🧠 Tech This Out – 5Rights Foundation – Youth-led insights and provocations around ethical tech use.
- 🌐 Black Dog Institute: Teens and Screens Hub – Teacher-friendly summaries and resources from current research.
- 🔍 Exodus Privacy: App Tracker Reports – Find out what your apps are really doing behind the scenes.
- 🕵️ Blacklight – The Markup – A powerful browser-based tool to explore how websites track and collect data.
Use these to guide professional conversations, build classroom activities, or simply stay informed about the fast-moving world your students live in.
Explore more in Term 3
ACHPER NSW’s professional learning calendar continues to offer targeted support for teachers looking to stay current, confident and curriculum-aligned.
📅 Check out what’s coming up next in Term 3: https://archive.achpernsw.com.au/events/
🔗 Explore more at achpernsw.com.au