IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/tik/inowpp/20200823.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Mobile phone use and subjective well-being: Implications for responsible research and innovation

Author

Listed:
  • Alexandra Palm

    (TIK, University of Oslo)

Abstract

How does mobile phone use affect subjective well-being, and what are the implications of this for responsible research and innovation (RRI)? Previous studies generally find negative associations between mobile phone use and users’ well-being. This paper presents novel evidence of this question based on a new survey dataset for a large representative sample of Norwegian adults. The paper highlights three findings. First, the intensity of mobile phone use per se is not significantly associated with subjective well-being. Second, communication features of mobile phones such as private phone calls and text messaging are positively associated with subjective well-being. Third, network and communication applications (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) are negatively associated with the subjective well-being of young adults. The paper discusses implications of these empirical results in terms of RRI, arguing that policy makers and industry actors should consider individual users’ well-being as a central dimension to assess objectives and impacts of innovation processes in digital technologies.

Suggested Citation

  • Alexandra Palm, 2020. "Mobile phone use and subjective well-being: Implications for responsible research and innovation," Working Papers on Innovation Studies 20200823, Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo.
    • Handle: RePEc:tik:inowpp:20200823
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sv.uio.no/tik/InnoWP/tik_working_paper_20200823.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mick, David Glen & Fournier, Susan, 1998. "Paradoxes of Technology: Consumer Cognizance, Emotions, and Coping Strategies," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 25(2), pages 123-143, September.
    2. Kavetsos, Georgios & Koutroumpis, Pantelis, 2011. "Technological affluence and subjective well-being," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 32(5), pages 742-753.
    3. Rotondi, Valentina & Stanca, Luca & Tomasuolo, Miriam, 2017. "Connecting alone: Smartphone use, quality of social interactions and well-being," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 17-26.
    4. Graham, Carol & Nikolova, Milena, 2013. "Does access to information technology make people happier? Insights from well-being surveys from around the world," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 126-139.
    5. Ben R. Martin, 2016. "Twenty challenges for innovation studies," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 43(3), pages 432-450.
    6. Des Gasper, 2005. "Subjective and Objective Well-Being in Relation to Economic Inputs: Puzzles and Responses," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 63(2), pages 177-206.
    7. Castellacci, Fulvio & Tveito, Vegard, 2018. "Internet use and well-being: A survey and a theoretical framework," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 308-325.
    8. Martin Binder, 2013. "Innovativeness and Subjective Well-Being," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 111(2), pages 561-578, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Castellacci, Fulvio & Tveito, Vegard, 2018. "Internet use and well-being: A survey and a theoretical framework," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 308-325.
    2. Giacomo Degli Antoni & Chiara Franco, 2022. "The effect of technological behaviour and beliefs on subjective well-being: the role of technological infrastructure," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 32(2), pages 553-590, April.
    3. Fulvio Castellacci & Henrik Schwabe, 2020. "Internet, unmet aspirations and the U-shape of life," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(6), pages 1-22, June.
    4. Fulvio Castellacci & Henrik Schwabe, 2018. "Internet Use and the U-shaped relationship between Age and Well-being," Working Papers on Innovation Studies 20180215, Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo.
    5. Yurong Yan & Yuying Deng & Juan-José Igartua & Xiagang Song, 2023. "Does Internet Use Promote Subjective Well-Being? Evidence from the Different Age Groups Based on CGSS 2017 Data," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-14, February.
    6. Fulvio Castellacci & Vegard Tveito, 2016. "The Effects of ICTs on Well-being: A Survey and a Theoretical Framework," Working Papers on Innovation Studies 20161004, Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo.
    7. Fulvio Castellacci, 2023. "Innovation and social welfare: A new research agenda," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(4), pages 1156-1191, September.
    8. Fulvio Castellacci, 2023. "Innovation and social welfare: A new research agenda," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(4), pages 1156-1191, September.
    9. Liang, Wanqi & Li, Wenying, 2023. "Impact of internet usage on the subjective well-being of urban and rural households: Evidence from Vietnam," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(3).
    10. Hans-Jürgen Engelbrecht, 2015. "A General Model of the Innovation - Subjective Well-Being Nexus," Economic Complexity and Evolution, in: Andreas Pyka & John Foster (ed.), The Evolution of Economic and Innovation Systems, edition 127, pages 69-90, Springer.
    11. Nicola Pontarollo & Mercy Orellana & Joselin Segovia, 2020. "The Determinants of Subjective Well-Being in a Developing Country: The Ecuadorian Case," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(8), pages 3007-3035, December.
    12. Xue Han & Yunyue Yang & Feng Li & Yuhui Li, 2022. "Adding Life to Years: The Influence of Internet Use and Appearance Management on Life Satisfaction Among the Elderly," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 160(2), pages 585-600, April.
    13. Monica Guillen-Royo, 2019. "Television, Sustainability and Subjective Wellbeing in Peru," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 141(2), pages 895-917, January.
    14. Bartosz Wilczek, 2018. "Media use and life satisfaction: the moderating role of social events," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 65(2), pages 157-184, June.
    15. Ana Suárez Álvarez & María R. Vicente, 2023. "Going “beyond the GDP” in the digital economy: exploring the relationship between internet use and well-being in Spain," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-10, December.
    16. Wang, Mengmeng & Zhou, Tao, 2023. "Does smart city implementation improve the subjective quality of life? Evidence from China," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    17. Fumagalli, Elena & Rezaei, Sarah & Salomons, Anna, 2022. "OK computer: Worker perceptions of algorithmic recruitment," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(2).
    18. Longjunjiang Huang & Xian Liang & Lishan Li & Hui Xiao & Fangting Xie, 2023. "The Impact of Internet Use on the Well-Being of Rural Residents," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-18, July.
    19. Koutroumpis, Pantelis, 2019. "The economic impact of broadband: Evidence from OECD countries," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    20. Campaña, Juan Carlos & Ortega, Raquel, 2020. "Time devoted by the elderly to the Internet: Influence of personal and family variables in Mexico and Chile," MPRA Paper 100977, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:tik:inowpp:20200823. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: H&kon Normann (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/tkuiono.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.