INGSA Report on Digital Wellbeing: Digital Wellbeing – Understanding wellbeing in the context of rapid digital and associated transformations: Implications for research, policy and measurement 

LONDON, UK: Can our conventional measures of wellbeing account for the impact of digital transformation on individuals, families, society and the nature of the nation state itself?

In April INGSA, in collaboration with the OECD, convened an expert workshop to identify and critically consider the key elements for analysis and measurement of wellbeing in the digital age. It sought to investigate whether current metrics were sufficiently sensitive to deal with the context and consequences of what has been called the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The workshop assembled a multi-disciplinary group of researchers with expertise in psychology, evolutionary biology and human development, sociology, social anthropology, ethics, policy studies, media studies, political philosophy, data science, AI, statistics, and monitoring and evaluation.

From the discussions emerged five priority elements that were identified as being critical to understanding wellbeing in the digital age: 

• Human Development including early childhood learning; 
• Mental health across the lifespan; 
• Social cohesion, including group formation and dynamics, social capital and trust; 
• Personal and public security; and
• Governance both of democratic processes as well as fair and just delivery of government core services.

It was a highly beneficial workshop and is expected to help inform work, both for INGSA and the OECD’s Going Digital intiative.

As an insight to the workshop read this concept paper, Considerations for Analysis of Welling in the Digital Age , and also review the Going Digital workshop presentation

UPDATE: In September 2018, INGSA released the report that resulted from this workshop and subsequent consultations: Digital Wellbeing – Understanding wellbeing in the context of rapid digital and associated transformations: Implications for research, policy and measurement