IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jscscx/v12y2023i12p679-d1296900.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Surveillance Capitalism in Mental Health: When Good Apps Go Rogue (and What Can Be Done about It)

Author

Listed:
  • Nicole Gross

    (School of Business, National College of Ireland, D01Y300 Dublin, Ireland)

  • David Mothersill

    (School of Business, National College of Ireland, D01Y300 Dublin, Ireland)

Abstract

Research shows that a large proportion of the world’s population has experience with mental health difficulties, and reliable as well as scalable care is urgently needed. Digital mental health seems to be an obvious solution to provide the better delivery of care but also the delivery of better care. With an imagined future of real-time information sharing, improved diagnosis and monitoring of mental health conditions, and remote care, supported by advances in artificial intelligence, many tech companies have emerged over the last three decades to plug the treatment gap and provide services. The evidence base seems compelling: some online treatments have the capability to treat individuals quite successfully. However, the introduction, utilisation, and expansion of digital mental health technologies have not always focused on public health only. Using a surveillance capitalism perspective, this paper approaches the democratisation–privatisation dichotomy in digital mental health with a critical lens. In particular, the paper details how (commercially valuable) mental health data are extracted, “shared”, and claimed as an asset by big tech companies. Reviewing the terms, conditions, and practices of ten popular mental health apps, the paper polemically argues that mental digital health cannot unlock real value for society—better treatment, good quality care, and efficient delivery—if power, politics, and profits remain in the hands of big tech companies. To conclude, the paper draws attention to contemporary discourses that seek to promote democracy and public value for digital mental health apps, technologies, and solutions.

Suggested Citation

  • Nicole Gross & David Mothersill, 2023. "Surveillance Capitalism in Mental Health: When Good Apps Go Rogue (and What Can Be Done about It)," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-25, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:12:y:2023:i:12:p:679-:d:1296900
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/12/679/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/12/679/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Geiger, Susi & Kjellberg, Hans, 2021. "Market mash ups: The process of combinatorial market innovation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 445-457.
    2. Kraus, Sascha & Schiavone, Francesco & Pluzhnikova, Anna & Invernizzi, Anna Chiara, 2021. "Digital transformation in healthcare: Analyzing the current state-of-research," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 557-567.
    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. Zahoor, Nadia & Zopiatis, Anastasios & Adomako, Samuel & Lamprinakos, Grigorios, 2023. "The micro-foundations of digitally transforming SMEs: How digital literacy and technology interact with managerial attributes," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    2. Garcia-Perez, Alexeis & Cegarra-Navarro, Juan Gabriel & Sallos, Mark Paul & Martinez-Caro, Eva & Chinnaswamy, Anitha, 2023. "Resilience in healthcare systems: Cyber security and digital transformation," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    3. Cannavacciuolo, Lorella & Capaldo, Guido & Ponsiglione, Cristina, 2023. "Digital innovation and organizational changes in the healthcare sector: Multiple case studies of telemedicine project implementation," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    4. Virginia Milone & Antonio Fusco & Angelamaria De Feo & Marco Tatullo, 2024. "Clinical Impact of “Real World Data” and Blockchain on Public Health: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(1), pages 1-14, January.
    5. Yangjun Ren & Botang Li, 2022. "Digital Transformation, Green Technology Innovation and Enterprise Financial Performance: Empirical Evidence from the Textual Analysis of the Annual Reports of Listed Renewable Energy Enterprises in C," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-15, December.
    6. Azadi, Majid & Yousefi, Saeed & Farzipoor Saen, Reza & Shabanpour, Hadi & Jabeen, Fauzia, 2023. "Forecasting sustainability of healthcare supply chains using deep learning and network data envelopment analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    7. Carlos Fernandez-Llatas & Niels Martin & Owen Johnson & Marcos Sepulveda & Emmanuel Helm & Jorge Munoz-Gama, 2022. "Building Process-Oriented Data Science Solutions for Real-World Healthcare," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-5, July.
    8. Cozzolino, Alessio & Geiger, Susi, 2024. "Ecosystem disruption and regulatory positioning: Entry strategies of digital health startup orchestrators and complementors," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(2).
    9. Theerasak Nitlarp & Supaporn Kiattisin, 2022. "The Impact Factors of Industry 4.0 on ESG in the Energy Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-19, July.
    10. Cobelli, Nicola & Cassia, Fabio & Donvito, Raffaele, 2023. "Pharmacists' attitudes and intention to adopt telemedicine: Integrating the market-orientation paradigm and the UTAUT," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    11. Basile, L.J. & Carbonara, N. & Panniello, U. & Pellegrino, R., 2024. "The role of big data analytics in improving the quality of healthcare services in the Italian context: The mediating role of risk management," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    12. Yang Yu & Fangrong Ren & Yun Ju & Jingyi Zhang & Xiaoyan Liu, 2024. "Exploring the Role of Digital Transformation and Breakthrough Innovation in Enhanced Performance of Energy Enterprises: Fresh Evidence for Achieving Sustainable Development Goals," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-22, January.
    13. Carla Santos Pereira & Natercia Durão & Fernando Moreira & Bruno Veloso, 2022. "The Importance of Digital Transformation in International Business," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-26, January.
    14. Ji Luo & Sayed Fayaz Ahmad & Asma Alyaemeni & Yuhan Ou & Muhammad Irshad & Randah Alyafi-Alzahri & Ghadeer Alsanie & Syeda Taj Unnisa, 2024. "Role of perceived ease of use, usefulness, and financial strength on the adoption of health information systems: the moderating role of hospital size," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, December.
    15. Xin Tan & Jinfang Jiao & Ming Jiang & Ming Chen & Wenpeng Wang & Yijun Sun, 2024. "Digital Policy, Green Innovation, and Digital-Intelligent Transformation of Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-23, August.
    16. Tuomas Korhonen & Virpi Sillanpää & Aki Jääskeläinen, 2023. "Anchor practices that guide horizontal performance measurement: an interventionist case study of the financial aspect of new technology implementation in healthcare," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 27(3), pages 787-816, September.
    17. Wenjuan, Zhu & Zhong, Kaiyang & He, Mingqiang & Pham, Thanh Huong & Nguyen, Quang Khai & Huy, Pham Quang, 2023. "Volatility challenges for natural resources during COVID-19 and its impact on economic development for sustainable economic repossession," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(PB).
    18. Jeon, Eunji & Yoon, Naeun & Sohn, So Young, 2023. "Exploring new digital therapeutics technologies for psychiatric disorders using BERTopic and PatentSBERTa," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 186(PA).
    19. Seokho Ahn & Jaesung Kim & Seok Chan Jeong & Myungil Kim & Cheolyoung Kim & Dongki Park, 2022. "Stress Distribution Analysis of Threaded Implants for Digital Dentistry," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-14, October.
    20. Denicolai, Stefano & Previtali, Pietro, 2023. "Innovation strategy and digital transformation execution in healthcare: The role of the general manager," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).

    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:gam:jscscx:v:12:y:2023:i:12:p:679-:d:1296900. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.