OECD & Cisco launch digital well-being hub in Australia

The OECD and Cisco have launched a Digital Well-being Hub in Australia to study the impact of digital technologies on well-being.

This global initiative seeks to involve Australians in the first comprehensive survey of its kind to capture experiences of digital life, including data privacy challenges, digital skills, and online safety. Australia was selected due to its high level of digital engagement, making its participation crucial in shaping the outcome of policies that will influence global digital well-being standards.

Australians are invited to take part in the survey that aims to provide critical data for shaping future digital policies and improving inclusivity efforts. The data collected will be analysed by the OECD and Cisco to address digital inequalities and will guide governments and industries in creating environments that are safer and more inclusive.

The survey encompasses ten dimensions of digital well-being, including work-life balance, online safety, job quality, and social connection, giving participants an opportunity to influence the approach towards these issues on a global scale.

"Digital well-being isn't one thing; it's multifaceted and interconnected, requiring a holistic understanding to responsibly navigate the AI era and beyond. But we've never fully examined technology's impact on our well-being across various aspects of everyday life, such as education, health and jobs," said Guy Dietrich, Senior Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer at Cisco. "The evidence we gather from our Digital Well-being Hub will help people build healthier relationships with technology and create a more sustainable, secure, and inclusive digital future. By understanding how technology influences our well-being, we can unlock its full potential."

The initiative seeks to explore the effects of digital transformation on well-being by crowdsourcing insights related to life satisfaction, mental health, digital skills, cyber safety, civic engagement, climate consciousness, and social connections. Visitors to the Hub will also access OECD data on several well-being dimensions.

Francine Katsoudas, Chief People, Policy & Purpose Officer at Cisco, noted that the Hub illuminates how advanced technology can improve lives and communities. "Connecting global populations through shared experiences presents an uplifting vision, but also an important call to action on behalf of the 2.6 billion people who still lack access to the Internet. This means that a third of the global population - largely in the world's poorest countries - can't participate and won't be represented. We must commit to narrowing this gap as the first and most fundamental step to global well-being in the digital age," she asserted.

The Hub is designed using the OECD Well-being Framework and will capture real-time evidence of people's well-being, digital behaviours, and inequalities in technology usage. Participants can also compare their experiences with existing OECD findings on technology impacts.

Romina Boarini, Director at the OECD Centre for Well-being, Inclusion, Sustainability and Equal Opportunity, stated, "Through the Digital Well-being Hub, we will hear directly from people to better understand the interplay between technology and life, which can inform new decisions and policies, and spur action to improve outcomes for people. Up to 14% of people in OECD countries feel lonely, which could be potentially exacerbated by the use of digital tools. Through our collaboration with Cisco, we are exploring the unintended consequences of excessive or problematic use of digital tools to understand how people live in the digital world. Our findings will help to shape policies and foster a more equitable and inclusive digital future."

The findings from this initiative will provide a holistic view of digital well-being in 2025 by synthesising collected responses with existing OECD research. The Digital Well-being Hub promises to be a significant contributor to understanding and enhancing the digital experiences of individuals globally.