Design for social digital well-being with young generations: Engage them and make them reflect

Abstract

Digital well-being traditionally means limiting the effects on individuals of technology abuses. However, in a broader perspective, it can be crucial to consider the pervasiveness of technology, and the effect it can have not only on individuals but also on their peers in the context of diverse everyday-life situations. Within this view, which emphasises the social side of digital well-being, the paper argues the need of educating young generations to participate in the making of technology for a social goal and have a reflective attitude towards technology and its impact on society. It, therefore, presents a design toolkit as a means to (i) engage young generations to become active in design for social digital well-being and, thanks to the exposure to how technology works, (ii) reflect deeply on the pros and cons of technology in use in their everyday life. By presenting the results of a study with 24 high-school pupils and their teachers, the paper discusses how a phygital toolkit, which structures the design process, engages them in the rapid prototyping of their own smart things, and how it acts as a proxy for soliciting their own reflections around technology and social digital well-being.