Positive Technology And Wellbeing – Forbes
While there is little doubt that our lives are becoming increasingly digital, whether this change is for better or worse is far from settled. Numerous efforts are devoted to acknowledging the risks of digital technologies, but could technology be used to improve people’s wellbeing?
In the 2022 Harvard Business Review article “Using Technology to Make Work More Human,” Allison Fine and Beth Kanter share how the next wave of digital tech or “smart technology” has the potential and power to rehumanize work. They share how rather than doing the same work faster, and with fewer people, smart tech creates an opportunity to redesign jobs and re-engineer workflows to enable people to focus on the parts of work that humans are particularly well-suited for, such as relationship building, intuitive decision making, empathy, and problem-solving.
Another example of technology for the betterment of humans is positive technology which has gained momentum among consumers and organizations to support enhancing human happiness and psychological wellbeing. Positive technology is defined as the scientific and applied approach to using technology to improve the quality of the human experience. The underpinnings derive from positive psychology, which is the scientific study of positive human functioning and flourishing on multiple levels, including biological, personal, relational, institutional, cultural, and global dimensions of life.
Integrating Technology in Positive Psychology Practice is a collection of essays on the use of technology to enhance personal experience. It challenges common assumptions about technology by looking at its potential to support human growth and flourishing by harnessing its ability to create goal-oriented systems, augment interactive experiences, and simulate physical presence. This type of positive computing emphasizes designing with wellbeing in mind and supporting human potential. The user experience is critical and must focus on multi-dimensional, interpretive, and situational aspects. This focus allows the technology to go beyond cognition to include emotions, values, culture, and experience.
A virtual world could be considered positive technology if utilized to foster positive emotions, promote engagement in empowering activities, and support connectedness between individuals, groups, and communities. The three key characteristics needed for a personal experience in the virtual world are
Together these three characteristics are key features that enable immersive technology to target different aspects of individual experience.
Imagining an Immersive Wellbeing Experience
Imagine you are on a beautiful Hawaiian Island with the seagulls flying in the clear blue sky, and the calming sounds of the ocean waves. You have just completed an assessment identifying your wellness needs, interests, barriers, and challenges to curate the sessions and modalities that fit you.
First is the hedonic level which focuses on the affective/emotional quality and concentrates on strengthening and developing positive emotional strategies in the virtual world.
Second is the Eudaimonic level which investigates how technology can be used to support individuals with engaging and self-actualizing experiences, which are crucial factors to engagement, presence, self-efficacy, and motivation.
Third is Connectedness which focuses on social and interpersonal experiences. The four critical factors of connectedness are flow, gratitude, empathy, and altruism.
Specifically, these experiences encourage users to embrace the immersive experience, pay attention, be in the present moment, and be there on purpose. In addition, being able to interact and play with other individuals simultaneously (in real-time) can improve mental health and physical movement, engagement, and, ultimately, enjoyment.
Daily life is constantly subject to the micro and macro-stressors that prevent a person from achieving a state of homeostasis. However, with consistent practice and modalities to help, many people can maintain a balanced relationship with the environment. And what if there was a place by the ocean that you could visit friends, physicians, therapists, and counselors anywhere at any time. Even under the most challenging circumstances, this “world” could help you develop, grow, and achieve increasingly intense levels of wellbeing. Perhaps the answer is yes, digital technologies be used to improve people’s wellbeing.
References
Villani, D., Cipresso, P., Gaggioli, A., & Riva, G. (2016)