22.08.2023
The well-being of the residents of Northern Ostrobothnia is taken care of in a digitalised society
Digitalisation is already affecting almost every aspect of life, and several functions related to everyday life have become digitalised. Digitalisation brings several benefits and makes life smoother, but it also sets requirements for sufficient digital competence. As digitalisation progresses, it is particularly important to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to learn digital skills and equal conditions to use digital devices, services and environments to support their own lives as they wish. As the development of digitalisation progresses, it is worth considering what kinds of digital services, environments and usage habits increase well-being and which fstakeholders related to digital in turn weaken well-being.
End of July 2023 the Northern Ostrobothnia Digital Wellbeing and Participation and Inclusion Development Project Efforts have been made to promote digital well-being, especially from a municipality-based perspective. The project has been based on the objectives of the Regional Programme 2022-2025, and during the project the objectives and partnership promise related to the digital capabilities of the Northern Ostrobothnia Welfare Agreement 2019-2025 have been promoted, to which the Regional Assembly of Oulu Region has committed together in cooperation with the municipalities of the region. The aim of the project has been to study the state and development targets of the region's digital well-being and participation, to plan operating models that promote digital well-being together in cooperation with municipal stakeholders, and to coordinate the activities of the Northern Ostrobothnia digital well-being network. The project's activities have been a natural continuation of previous work related to the development of digital support in the Regional Assembly of Oulu Region, which has been carried out in a multi-actor manner on different service interfaces since 2018.
Digital well-being has different needs
The project gathers information on the needs, strengths and development targets related to digital well-being of different target groups. The collected data will be used in the implementation of the objectives of the regional programme and in the work of various stakeholders in Northern Ostrobothnia to promote digital well-being.
As far as families in cooperation with children are concerned, it becomes clear that the challenges relate, among other things, to the time spent on digital devices. What is the appropriate amount to be on digital devices so that it does not have a negative impact on the well-being of the family? Excessive use of digital devices and incorrect content may have an impact on increasing insomnia, restlessness, presence and face-to-face interactions, so that social relationships suffer. Parents have a responsibility to assess what kind of digital devices and environments support the child's growth, development and well-being. The parents' high screen time has been found to have an impact on the child's abundant use of digital devices, and the child's abundant use of digital devices for entertainment purposes is known to predict lower school success. Parents' digital and media skills affect how they can ensure that children's digital and media use is safe in all respects. Family environments can have long-lasting effects on individuals' digital use, and in the future it will become even more relevant what kind of skills children acquire for their digital well-being. in cooperation with early childhood education and care and school support, it is possible to compensate for individual and family differences. For example, the current curriculum for basic education places digital skills at the centre, and the role of schools is seen as an equal developer of digital skills and also as a preventer of digital exclusion.
Young people use a lot of digital devices and their use is particularly targeted at various social media channels and online entertainment services. It would be important to discuss in cooperation with young people how to act responsibly in social media in a way that does no harm to anyone. According to the report, the challenges young people face when using digital services are particularly related to the competence of digital programmes needed for studying or working life, as well as to dealing in cooperation with digital government services, the use of which is a prerequisite for managing everyday life.
According to the Digital Skills Survey 2022 of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, Finnish working-age people generally have good digital skills compared to working-age people in other European countries. Despite the general good digital skills, the challenges are to keep up in cooperation with the rapidly changing digital programs, platforms, requirements and developments in the world of work, which can be very burdensome and have a negative impact on well-being.
The digital skills of older people vary greatly – some know how to use digital devices and services very smoothly, but others hardly at all. However, older people are clearly identified target groups for whom it is important to have targeted digital support available. The possibility to make use of digital devices and services enriches the maintenance of social relationships between older people, promotes the conditions for living at home and increases self-determination.
Special groups must be taken into account when developing digital services – how to enable them to use digital services on an equal footing. Touching digital devices and using digital services can be challenging due to language barriers, illness or disability. Methods and solutions that facilitate operation can be found by modifying the environment, adjusting device settings, auxiliary functions and accessories. Often, relatives play an important role in assisting the use of digital services, so it is important that they have good digital skills and have access to the necessary support.
Municipalities key stakeholders and developers of digital well-being
Municipalities have a legal obligation to take care of and promote the well-being and health of their residents. As digital activities increase, it is important to take into account the effects on well-being as part of planning and implementing municipal activities. At the strategic level, digital well-being should be reflected in well-being reports and plans. Sufficient resources should be allocated for development. On a practical level, the municipality should offer digital support to those in need and communicate clearly in different channels from digitue.
Based on the information gathered during the project and discussions in cooperation with municipal stakeholders, key measures have emerged that municipalities can use to Influencing the digital well-being of residents. For example, professionals working in cooperation with young people need skills related to digital well-being in order to be able to Influencing the safe use of digital media by young people through various actions, to address social media bullying and to prevent excessive digital gambling. Many municipal employees have also encountered digital exclusion in their work, i.e. exclusion from digital activities, which causes consequences that complicate everyday life as well as inequality. In this case, more tools are needed to prevent digital exclusion. Developing the digital competence of the personnel increases the organization's human capital and improves the quality of municipal services, promotes confidential cooperation in cooperation with residents and helps customers to use digital services in a way that increases well-being.
Collaboration to promote digital well-being and Participation and Inclusion is needed at many different levels
There has been close network cooperation in the region to develop digital well-being and participation at different levels and sectors. The Northern Ostrobothnia Digital Welfare Network has shared information, experiences and good practices, as well as tried to find functional operating models that support digital well-being. The network has consisted of more than 100 members and representatives from various organisations, municipalities and organisations in the region. There has been good feedback on the network's activities. Members have expressed the need to continue networking activities after the end of the project.
The Digital Participation and Inclusion in Finland research report (2022) published by the Government highlights how multifaceted and multi-level cooperation between different stakeholders is needed to develop digital well-being and Participation and Inclusion. Collaboration is important in order to enable equal use of digital services for all and thus support people's well-being. This should also be taken into account when continuing the development of digital well-being and participation in Northern Ostrobothnia.
“Digital solutions, products and services are one concrete way of implementing elements that support Participation and Inclusion in society. stakeholders also Influencing other stakeholders through their own actions, and therefore the impacts of activities on digital Participation and Inclusion elements often occur through impact chains.”
Maria Puotiniemi
Project manager
