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

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  • 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
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    File URL: http://www.sv.uio.no/tik/InnoWP/tik_working_paper_20200823.pdf
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