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Cisco, alongside the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), has unveiled the Digital Well-being Hub in Australia. This initiative is positioned as the world’s first in-depth study to evaluate the effects of digital technology on individual well-being. The Hub is set to provide insights into how digital transformation impacts lives across multiple facets, aiming to inform policy development for a more inclusive digital future.
The launch highlights growing awareness of how Ai, technology, and other digital advancements shape not only productivity but also broader social and personal well-being.
Filling the Gaps in Digital Well-Being
Research already shows that about 40 per cent of adults in OECD countries lack foundational digital skills, potentially limiting their ability to navigate digital environments effectively. These skills are increasingly critical as more people interact online, managing issues from privacy to mental health. In workplaces, over half of employees in OECD countries are reportedly concerned that data collected through Ai could lead to biases that affect them.
However, the current understanding is still fragmented. The Digital Well-being Hub seeks to provide a more complete picture by collecting insights on daily digital experiences. This includes how limited digital skills affect job opportunities, mental health, online education, and social connections. The aim is to explore how these elements collectively shape well-being.
“Digital well-being isn’t just one thing; it’s multifaceted and interconnected, requiring a comprehensive understanding,” said Guy Dietrich, Cisco’s Senior Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer. “We’re working to examine technology’s impact across various life aspects, including education, health, and work. The evidence we gather through this Hub will support healthier relationships with technology and inform a digital future that is sustainable, secure, and inclusive.”
Examining the Complexities of Digital Life
The Digital Well-being Hub is designed to explore the intersections between digital technologies and well-being factors such as life satisfaction, mental health, digital skills, cyber safety, civic engagement, environmental awareness, and social connections. By gathering insights from global users, the Hub will enable pioneering research that highlights how digital tools impact daily life.
Francine Katsoudas, Cisco’s Chief People, Policy & Purpose Officer, sees the initiative as a critical step towards more equitable digital inclusion. “The Hub illuminates how technology can build healthier lives and communities, but it’s also a call to action. Around 2.6 billion people globally still lack internet access, meaning a significant portion of the world’s population isn’t able to participate in this digital era. We must work to bridge this gap as a foundational step toward global digital well-being,” Katsoudas stated.
The First Complete Study of Digital Well-Being
Cisco and the OECD’s initiative breaks new ground by combining insights from a wide range of well-being dimensions in a single framework. Digital technology, where accessible and affordable, has already been shown to boost economic well-being and transform how people live, work, and connect. Ai, for example, can enhance productivity and improve working conditions. Yet it also presents challenges, including biases that may disproportionately affect women and minority groups.
The broader impacts of technology on social, environmental, and interpersonal well-being remain less straightforward, with risks from excessive or problematic use often overshadowing the benefits. The Hub’s work will help clarify these mixed outcomes and provide data-driven insights to shape future technology use.
A Platform for Collective Insight and Research
Built on the OECD’s Well-being Framework, the Digital Well-being Hub gathers real-time insights on well-being, digital behaviours, and inequalities in technology use. It also gives users the chance to engage with existing OECD findings and compare data across countries.
Through the Hub, visitors will have access to OECD data across various well-being dimensions and can contribute their own experiences to the research.
“The Hub allows us to hear directly from people, helping us understand the relationship between technology and quality of life,” said Romina Boarini, Director of the OECD Centre for Well-being, Inclusion, Sustainability, and Equal Opportunity. “For example, about 14 per cent of people in OECD countries report feeling lonely, which could be amplified by certain digital tools. Our collaboration with Cisco is aimed at understanding these unintended effects so that we can shape policies to support a more inclusive digital future.”
How to Participate
Cisco and the OECD are now encouraging individuals worldwide, particularly in Australia, to share their experiences through the Hub. The data collected will be combined with existing OECD research, with the results expected to present a more complete view of digital well-being by 2025. For more information, visit the Digital Well-being Hub.
Last Updated on November 13, 2024 by Nick Ross
