More screen time, less wellbeing?

Patterns of digital media use and their correlations with subjective wellbeing in two border districts

Abstract

Our study examines the social patterns of three digital activities –TV viewing, social media use, and internet use for information seeking – and their correlation with subjective well-being in adult samples from Baranya and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg counties. The investigation of populations in disadvantaged settlements allowed for a thorough analysis of the dimensions of digital exclusion. Furthermore, with the rapid and widespread adoption of technologies, the question of how the intensive use of digital devices affects our well-being has become increasingly important in scientific and public discourse. Our study focuses on this question, which has mostly been explored in studies investigating children and youth, typically using a psychological approach.

Our research is based on data from a small-scale survey conducted in one district each of Baranya and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg counties in 2020 and 2021 (Siklósi district: n=386; Záhonyi district: n=287). Hierarchical ANOVA models were applied.

The results indicate that different social dimensions determine different digital inequalities. Regarding TV viewing and internet use for information seeking, status inequalities are dominant, while generational differences appear in the use of social media.

Our findings show a weak relationship between digital media use and subjective well-being. TV viewing has no impact on well-being, while social media use, often considered risky in the literature, is generally found to be favourable regarding life satisfaction, as is internet use for information seeking. However, the effects of different activities vary across diverse social groups. Therefore, structural factors are more relevant for enhancing well-being among the adult population of the districts of Siklós and Záhony. The impacts of digital media use primarily appear along the dimensions of inequality.