The research work package no. 1
Masaryk University
Short-term and long-term impacts of using digital technologies on the wellbeing of the general population
Leader prof. David Šmahel (MU)
serves as the Vice-Dean for Strategy and Development at the Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, while also holding a position at the Faculty of Informatics, Masaryk University. He has led numerous projects in the field of researching the impacts of technology on humans, focusing on Human-Computer Interaction. He has authored over 80 academic publications and has been involved in various international projects. As part of the EU Kids Online project, he led international research on the risks and opportunities of internet use by children and adolescents. He also serves as the editor of the Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace.
What do we do?
What do we study?
We study how digital technologies impact users’ wellbeing, both in the short term and in the long term. Thematically, our work touches on many areas, such as health, working life, leisure time, and gaming. All of them are connected by the overarching idea of digital wellbeing — the effort to achieve balance in the use of technologies.
Do smartphones cause stress in adults, or do they help reduce it? How does smartphone use influence momentary mood throughout the day? For short-term effects, we collect several days of continuous data directly from the participants’ phones (aged 18–59). At the same time, we ask them several times a day about their current state — for example, their mood, sleep quality, or stress levels. This allows us to observe the immediate relationship between how participants feel and how they use their technologies.
Can mHealth apps gradually increase health anxiety in their users? Does participation in online communities with political content lead to changes in political attitudes? For long-term effects, we focus on how technology use and individual characteristics influence each other over a period of two years. Each year, we examine how the situation has changed. This enables us to estimate whether certain forms of technology use may more permanently influence psychological, physical, or social wellbeing. To account for developmental differences across life stages, we study adolescents (12–17), adults (18–59), and older adults (60+) separately.
How can this research benefit society?
This research helps us understand how people use digital technologies and what effects this use has. It allows us to provide the public with recommendations on how to avoid or mitigate negative impacts of digital technologies and how to support their positive use. These recommendations may concern various aspects of wellbeing, such as momentary mood, social support, or sleep.
The research also contributes to developing a concept of digital wellbeing for schools, in collaboration with OnFine. We also work with VOS.Health, helping them improve interventions aimed at enhancing psychological wellbeing.