2020_09_22_ICS_confinamiento_dispositivos

Confinement has led to a significant increase in the use of digital devices, to the point of exceeding nine and a quarter hours of daily use. This is according to the report El bienestar staff yel uso de la tecnología en confinamiento, elaborated by researchers of the group 'Youth in transition' of the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS) of the University of Navarra and published by the Social Observatory of "la Caixa". Its authors are Javier García-Manglano, Charo Sádaba, Cecilia Serrano and Claudia López Madrigal.

For this work an internationalsurvey was carried out with more than 9,300 responses from Spain, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. The data were collected between March 29 and June 20, 2020. The results indicate that 16% of respondents have low levels of well-being. Fifty-seven percent have medium levels of well-being and 27% have high levels. 

Nineteen percent say their screen time has increased a lot and 52% say it has increased quite a lot. Only 3% say they are not using technology more than before the health crisis. 

The results show that those who spend more than two hours a day using technology for social networking, entertainment or communication have high well-being less frequently than those who achieve moderate use (two hours or less a day). 

Evidence has been found that physical exercise and leisure time devoted to screen-free hobbies (cooking, reading, painting or playing an instrument, among others) are associated with higher levels of well-being staff and psychological well-being. Similarly, in a context of social distancing, it has been found that personal relationships with friends or family are especially valuable in avoiding discomfort and promote high levels of well-being. 

On the other hand, certain uses "such as gossip or the search for information on the pandemic appear to be associated with a lower level of well-being", says Javier García-Manglano, researcher principal of 'Youth in transition'. The ICS expert points out, however, that it would be hasty to conclude that these activities are the cause of the discomfort. "It could be the other way around: that people with more problems resort more to technology as an escape... to forget for a moment what makes them suffer. With our study we can see relationships, but not distinguish causes and effects," he points out.

Young people, more affected than older people

Women, young people and people without programs of study had a worse time. The differences between age groups are also striking: there are hardly any people over 50 years of age with low levels of well-being and more than 40% have a high level of well-being, while only 14% of participants aged 18 to 22 years have high levels of well-being. "This is surprising, since the elderly are the population at risk for Covid-19," says Charo Sádaba, dean of School of Communication and ICS collaborating researcher. 

According to him, the hypothesis that they are handling and will continue to explore is that "the disruption of daily routines (no attendance toschool or work, change in leisure and sports patterns, less social life, etc.) has affected young people more than older people, for whom confinement has perhaps meant less change in their life habits".

The article has been published in the Social Observatory of "la Caixa", an initiative for the study of new social phenomena in four areas: social inclusion, Education, science and culture. The Observatory's analysis is based on a barometer of indicators core topic on issues of social interest in the member countries of the European Union and the OECD, as well as articles, interviews and reviews by experts.