Topic: Technology and Innovation | Social Media and Wellbeing
Presenter: Dajana Jelavić
Presentation details
This presentation explores how Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) can support student mental health in the age of social media, with a focus on its integration into EFL classrooms. Adolescents increasingly navigate digital environments shaped by social comparison, rapid communication, and algorithm-driven content, which can influence self-esteem, attention, and emotional regulation. Schools, and particularly language classrooms, offer a structured space to develop awareness and healthier habits.
The study focuses on the five core SEL competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. In the EFL context, these competencies are developed through communicative tasks such as guided discussions on online behaviour, reflective writing on personal social media use, and collaborative speaking activities exploring digital identity and peer pressure. Language learning becomes a vehicle for emotional expression and critical thinking about online experiences.
A central element of the approach is the use of AI as a creative classroom tool. Students engage with AI-supported tasks to analyse online habits, generate ideas for healthier digital routines, and reimagine social media environments that support well-being rather than stress. These activities strengthen both language skills and digital awareness.
As a final product, students design interactive posters titled Redesigning Social Media for Wellbeing. These posters visually present their ideas for safer, more balanced digital platforms, including features such as wellbeing prompts, mindful-scrolling reminders, and supportive peer-interaction systems. The poster task encourages creativity, collaboration, and practical application of SEL principles.
Findings indicate that combining SEL with ELT instruction and AI-supported creativity enhances student engagement, emotional awareness, and critical digital literacy. The presentation concludes that this integrated approach supports mental health by helping students actively reshape their digital experiences and express their ideas through meaningful language production and visual communication.
About the presenter
Dajana Jelavić is an English and Italian language teacher at Jure Kaštelan high school in Omiš, Croatia, active in eTwinning and Erasmus+ projects, and a course author and trainer for Europass Teacher Academy. She also teaches the elective subject Artificial Intelligence: From Concept to Application and was recognised by the Croatian Ministry of Science and Education as one of Croatia’s most successful educators in 2023/2024.
Her professional interests include innovative teaching methods, integrating artificial intelligence into education, and using technology to support creativity, inclusion, and lifelong learning practice.