The impact of technology: how features, resources and task demands shape digital well-being

Abstract

Purpose: Despite growing awareness that digital technology has both positive and negative implications, the role of specific features in shaping users’ overall well-being remains inadequately understood. We aim to investigate the relationship between technology features, type of task, users’ resources and well-being, to address conflicting empirical evidence in the extant literature.

Design/methodology/approach: We draw on the Conservation of Resources theory and Involvement theory to analyse user experiences with the digital platforms of a local authority in England. We use an explanatory case-study, nested in a critical realist perspective, and draw on observations, document analysis and interviews with two stakeholder groups.

Findings: We find that digital well-being is a situated condition shaped by users’ goals, resources and experiences. This explains why the same technology feature – e.g. self-service – supports well-being in low-involvement tasks but not in high-involvement ones. We also show that the hedonic and functional aspects of technology are interdependent in the production of digital well-being and describe how the alignment between resources’ affordances and the users’ specific needs and goals shape well-being.

Originality/value: We address the conflicting evidence regarding the impact of digital technology on well-being, in the extant literature. This will support future researchers to critically analyse under what conditions technology will benefit vs harm individual well-being and society. It also highlights the importance of designing digital platforms that are aligned with the level of user involvement, to create digital solutions that promote user well-being and foster an inclusive society.