Luca De Biase & Stefano Moriggi PART 2
10 February 2025
PART 2
The intersection of digital technology and healthcare is one of the most intriguing—and, in many ways, most urgent—frontiers for rethinking the concept of citizenship. As we face the challenges of an increasingly digital future, we need to reconsider both the theory and practice of civic engagement. Ensuring widespread and seamless access to services, prioritizing prevention, and leveraging technological innovation to advance diagnostics and drug discovery are just a few key areas where research and development can reshape not only the profile of future patients but also the broader identity of individuals navigating a new landscape of rights and opportunities. In this evolving context, digital literacy is becoming a crucial pillar of modern citizenship.
This perspective has guided the decision of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia to introduce a bachelor’s degree in Digital Education within the CHIMOMO Department (Department of Surgical, Medical, Dental, and Morphological Sciences with a Focus on Transplantation, Oncology, and Medicine). The program is currently coordinated by Professor Stefano Moriggi, who teaches Digital Citizenship.
Students can choose from three areas of specialization: Psycho-Social Digital Educator, Digital Educator in Healthcare Settings, and Instructional Designer for Digital Environments. The program is designed to train professionals equipped with the knowledge and skills to harness digital tools for innovation in education and healthcare services. Ultimately, a new model of citizenship may emerge from a renewed focus on digital education, particularly in support of public health.
This perspective has guided the decision of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia to introduce a bachelor’s degree in Digital Education within the CHIMOMO Department (Department of Surgical, Medical, Dental, and Morphological Sciences with a Focus on Transplantation, Oncology, and Medicine). The program is currently coordinated by Professor Stefano Moriggi, who teaches Digital Citizenship.
Students can choose from three areas of specialization: Psycho-Social Digital Educator, Digital Educator in Healthcare Settings, and Instructional Designer for Digital Environments. The program is designed to train professionals equipped with the knowledge and skills to harness digital tools for innovation in education and healthcare services. Ultimately, a new model of citizenship may emerge from a renewed focus on digital education, particularly in support of public health.
Luca De Biase
Does designing a public healthcare system in the digital age also mean addressing its consequences?
Does designing a public healthcare system in the digital age also mean addressing its consequences?
Stefano Moriggi
Certainly, yes—at least in all cases where such issues have been diagnosed. However, while it is essential to remain vigilant about the risks associated with the improper use of digital devices, I also believe we should avoid an unjustified medicalization of the digital sphere. More proactively, we should begin to see digital technology as both a conceptual and practical framework within which to redesign the contexts and landscapes of our society. This, of course, requires knowledge and expertise that go beyond the realm of IT. At the same time, it calls for a clear and precise diagnostic approach to fully understand the distress and imbalances that, while often manifesting problematically—even pathologically—through technology, are frequently rooted in deeper social, familial, and educational issues. Recognizing and distinguishing these underlying causes from those directly linked to the misuse of technology would be both useful and necessary.
Certainly, yes—at least in all cases where such issues have been diagnosed. However, while it is essential to remain vigilant about the risks associated with the improper use of digital devices, I also believe we should avoid an unjustified medicalization of the digital sphere. More proactively, we should begin to see digital technology as both a conceptual and practical framework within which to redesign the contexts and landscapes of our society. This, of course, requires knowledge and expertise that go beyond the realm of IT. At the same time, it calls for a clear and precise diagnostic approach to fully understand the distress and imbalances that, while often manifesting problematically—even pathologically—through technology, are frequently rooted in deeper social, familial, and educational issues. Recognizing and distinguishing these underlying causes from those directly linked to the misuse of technology would be both useful and necessary.
Luca De Biase
A major debate has emerged around the distress that adolescents, in particular, may experience due to the nature of the digital platforms they use most. What should be done about it?
A major debate has emerged around the distress that adolescents, in particular, may experience due to the nature of the digital platforms they use most. What should be done about it?
Stefano Moriggi
First and foremost, it is essential to identify and isolate the most dangerous consequences of improper digital technology use from diagnoses and analyses that, whether intentionally or not, confuse causal relationships with less meaningful correlations between data and evidence. A recent and emblematic case is that of Jonathan Haidt. In The Anxious Generation, the American psychologist attempted to explain how and why social media has “ruined our kids.” However, as Candice Odgers pointed out in Nature, “Hundreds of researchers, myself included, have looked for the kind of large effects Haidt suggests. Our efforts have produced a mix of null or marginal associations. Most of the data is correlational. When associations over time are found, they do not suggest that social media use predicts or causes depression but rather that young people who already have mental health issues tend to use these platforms more frequently or in different ways than their healthier peers.” It is well known that theorizing a (technological) apocalypse is easy—and often lucrative, both in terms of reputation and financial gain. Conducting rigorous research on digital evolution, its impacts, and effectively communicating those findings during a technological transition is a far more demanding and complex task. Scholars and professionals—not just in education—should be properly trained to take on this challenge.
First and foremost, it is essential to identify and isolate the most dangerous consequences of improper digital technology use from diagnoses and analyses that, whether intentionally or not, confuse causal relationships with less meaningful correlations between data and evidence. A recent and emblematic case is that of Jonathan Haidt. In The Anxious Generation, the American psychologist attempted to explain how and why social media has “ruined our kids.” However, as Candice Odgers pointed out in Nature, “Hundreds of researchers, myself included, have looked for the kind of large effects Haidt suggests. Our efforts have produced a mix of null or marginal associations. Most of the data is correlational. When associations over time are found, they do not suggest that social media use predicts or causes depression but rather that young people who already have mental health issues tend to use these platforms more frequently or in different ways than their healthier peers.” It is well known that theorizing a (technological) apocalypse is easy—and often lucrative, both in terms of reputation and financial gain. Conducting rigorous research on digital evolution, its impacts, and effectively communicating those findings during a technological transition is a far more demanding and complex task. Scholars and professionals—not just in education—should be properly trained to take on this challenge.
Luca De Biase
Digital technology—and artificial intelligence in particular—is often discussed within a rigid dichotomy of opportunities and risks. However, since digital technology is here to stay and its characteristics reflect the values of those who design it, isn’t it time to move beyond this dichotomy and focus on designing a better digital future? Telemedicine, improved communication between medical staff and citizens, the distribution of test results, and other services can undoubtedly benefit from digital platforms. At the same time, it is crucial to address the spread of medical misinformation on these very platforms and to work toward improving life in a digital environment that can be especially challenging for the most vulnerable individuals.
Could designing the future of public healthcare also mean designing the future of digital technology itself?
Digital technology—and artificial intelligence in particular—is often discussed within a rigid dichotomy of opportunities and risks. However, since digital technology is here to stay and its characteristics reflect the values of those who design it, isn’t it time to move beyond this dichotomy and focus on designing a better digital future? Telemedicine, improved communication between medical staff and citizens, the distribution of test results, and other services can undoubtedly benefit from digital platforms. At the same time, it is crucial to address the spread of medical misinformation on these very platforms and to work toward improving life in a digital environment that can be especially challenging for the most vulnerable individuals.
Could designing the future of public healthcare also mean designing the future of digital technology itself?
Stefano Moriggi
It would be highly desirable to move beyond mere “common sense” and fully embrace the complexity of human interaction with technology. Believing that we can understand and manage our relationship with machines by conceptually and practically separating risks from opportunities means failing to grasp what Plato had already intuited when reflecting on alphabetic writing. Writing, the Athenian philosopher explained, is a pharmakon—both a remedy that poisons and a poison that heals. The same applies to digital devices. The illusion that they can be managed through the “common sense” of distinguishing between use (which captures opportunities) and abuse (which degenerates into risk) in order to determine the sustainability of this new ecosystem is, in fact, the first fake news that should be debunked. Instead, it is through a more epistemologically structured digital culture that we should develop and share approaches, strategies, and tools to navigate an evolving, data-driven infosphere—something we are already doing in various courses within our Digital Education program. This would allow us to collectively explore which “forms of life” could shape plausible scenarios of digital citizenship, particularly with the most vulnerable individuals in mind, as we prepare for the future that lies ahead.
It would be highly desirable to move beyond mere “common sense” and fully embrace the complexity of human interaction with technology. Believing that we can understand and manage our relationship with machines by conceptually and practically separating risks from opportunities means failing to grasp what Plato had already intuited when reflecting on alphabetic writing. Writing, the Athenian philosopher explained, is a pharmakon—both a remedy that poisons and a poison that heals. The same applies to digital devices. The illusion that they can be managed through the “common sense” of distinguishing between use (which captures opportunities) and abuse (which degenerates into risk) in order to determine the sustainability of this new ecosystem is, in fact, the first fake news that should be debunked. Instead, it is through a more epistemologically structured digital culture that we should develop and share approaches, strategies, and tools to navigate an evolving, data-driven infosphere—something we are already doing in various courses within our Digital Education program. This would allow us to collectively explore which “forms of life” could shape plausible scenarios of digital citizenship, particularly with the most vulnerable individuals in mind, as we prepare for the future that lies ahead.
