On the 17th of April 2024, the Centre for Trusted Internet and Community (CTIC) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) launched a ground-breaking new initiative, “Living Well Digitally”. Developed in partnership with the DQ Institute and in support of the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA)’s Digital for Life movement, the initiative aims to educate, engage, and empower individuals around the world with the knowledge and tools to navigate the complexities of the digital world, fostering a more balanced and informed digital lifestyle.

 

This by invite only event brought together our collaborators and stakeholders in the government agencies, tech companies, and non-profit organisations. Relive the action in our event highlight reel! View video.

Watch the presentation recordings and see the slides here:

Keynote address by Madam Rahayu Mahzam. View video

Opening address by Dr Yuhyun Park. View video

Presentation 1: Introduction to Digital Well-being and Digital Wellbeing Indicator Framework by Prof Audrey Yue. View video

Presentation 2: Living Well Digitally Platform and Assessment Tool by A/Prof Natalie Pang. View video

Presentation 3: Cross-country Comparison of Digital Well-being by Asst. Prof Renwen Zhang. View video

Presentation slides. View slides

 

 

We were honoured to have Madam Rahayu Mahzam, Senior Parliamentary Secretary to Ministry of Health and Ministry of Law, as our Guest of Honour. In her keynote address, she highlighted the importance of digital wellbeing, especially now more than ever with the rise of AI which could amplify issues such as misinformation and online scams. She urged parents and educators in our midst to play an active role in supporting our children’s online activities, and use available tools and resources to keep them safe from harm. Madam Rahayu also spoke about the continued need to work closely with the people, private, and public sectors (3P) to promote awareness and understanding of digital wellbeing amongst Singaporeans.

 

 

Next, we were happy to invite Dr Yuhyun Park, Founder of DQ Institute, to give an opening address. Dr Park resonated with Madam Rahayu on the need for multifaceted collaborations. In fact, the Living Well Digitally Platform and the Digital Wellbeing Indicator Framework is a joint partnership between CTIC and DQ Institute. Dr Park is confident that the Framework is the most robust by research, most practical, and most comprehensive covering multiple aspects of digital life. She hopes to go global, equipping more people with the tools, and empowering them to live well in the digital space.

 

 

With that, Prof Audrey Yue introduced the Digital Wellbeing Indicator Framework (DWIF). This Framework goes beyond screen time, digital access, digital literacy and skills, to look at how the use of technology impacted our everyday lives. DWIF is the word’s first holistic framework to measure digital wellbeing across five domains of digital life and three levels of digital citizenship.

 

 

 

The baton was passed on to A/Prof Natalie Pang who unveiled the Living Well Digitally Platform and Assessment Tool. It is a website to educate, engage and empower individuals to learn more about digital wellbeing. This website features free educational resources for different groups of people, including youth, families, educators and social service professionals. Users can also learn more about the different domains of the Framework and take the Digital Wellbeing Assessment Tool to find out their digital wellbeing score. Take the test here!

 

 

 

With that, Prof Audrey Yue introduced the Digital Wellbeing Indicator Framework (DWIF). This Framework goes beyond screen time, digital access, digital literacy and skills, to look at how the use of technology impacted our everyday lives. DWIF is the word’s first holistic framework to measure digital wellbeing across five domains of digital life and three levels of digital citizenship.

 

 

 

Finally, Asst. Prof Renwen Zhang shared the preliminary findings of cross-country comparison of digital wellbeing. After developing the DWIF, four large-scale population surveys were conducted across Singapore, Seoul, Shanghai, and London to further validate our instrument and expand its scale globally. Some of the key takeaways include:

 

Digital wellbeing differs across the four cities with Shanghai being the lowest, and comparable levels of digital wellbeing among Singapore, Seoul and London.

Demographics factors such as age, gender, socioeconomic status have significant effects on individual’s digital wellbeing. Certain groups such as elderly, females/LGBTQ+ and low-income individuals may be at risk of lower digital wellbeing.

 

 

We want to thank Dr Yuhyun Park, Founder of DQ Institute, and Prof Lim Ee Peng from Singapore Management University, for their valuable contributions to this project. Big thanks also to all our participants from government agencies (MCI, IMDA, MOE and NLB), TOUCH Community Services, and tech companies (Meta, X Corp, TikTok). We look forward to working with you!

 

 

 

 

Media Coverage for Launch of Living Well Digitally Platform and Digital Wellbeing Indicator Framework:

 

Living Well Digitally: Global Initiative Launched by NUS Centre for Trusted Internet and Community and Powered by DQ. The Korea Herald. Financial Times China. Australian Associated Press. Yahoo Finance Singapore. Vulcan Post. PRNewswire Asia. Singapore Business Review. 19 April 2024.