Gaming Negatively Affects Gamers in the UAE More Than the Global Public

The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) announced the findings of its second Digital Wellbeing Global Report as well as the inaugural launch of its Global Digital Wellbeing Index. The Digital Wellbeing Global Report identifies insights into the fast-changing relationship of people with technology and how they aspire to gain more control over the digital realm. The Global Digital Wellbeing Index provides a country-level benchmark and a path to action for policymakers looking to improve digital well-being for the populations they serve.

2024 Digital Wellbeing Global Report

The basis of the new Digital Wellbeing Global Report is a survey of 35,000 members of the public, all over 18 years of age, in 35 nations across five continents, more than double the number of participants in the first Digital Wellbeing Global Report in 2021. 

The findings of the updated survey offer insights across six themes: Balanced use of technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI), social media, gaming, work, and government regulation. Notably, a key discovery is the widespread support for pausing further AI development until regulations are established. A substantial 78% of the UAE public views AI as a positive force. Additionally, residents in the UAE express confidence in their government's capacity to regulate internet content. Globally, respondents of all ages are increasingly adopting conscious digital consumption habits, with a majority now choosing to spend their online time intentionally rather than engaging in purposeless scrolling.

Photo Source: PSB Ithara Digital Wellbeing Global Research

Introducing the Global Digital Wellbeing Index

Ithra also announced the inaugural edition of the Global Digital Wellbeing Index (DWI), a country-level assessment that ranks 35 countries based on 94 selected indicators derived from policy analysis, statistical data, and survey results across 12 pillars. The index aims to help stakeholders find new evidence-based solutions to optimize opportunities and minimize the potential negative impacts of digital technology.

The 12 pillars assessed are social cohesion; mental health; physical health; ability to disconnect; information quality; cybersafety; connectivity; social connectedness; education and skills; work, productivity, and income; entertainment and culture; and access to services and goods. The research highlights leaders in each of the categories, as well as the areas where policymakers and businesses can focus their efforts.

Ithra’s DWI reveals that Canada leads the ranking in digital wellbeing followed by Australia, Singapore, Estonia, and France. Within the 12 pillars, leadership and best practices emerge from different parts of the world. Examples include Saudi Arabia which excels in connectivity, China which has supportive policies for digital mental health in place and was a front runner in recognizing digital addiction, and Colombia, which is improving digital literacy and awareness for young women through dedicated programs. In addition to achieving a 100% score in connectivity, the UAE leads in social connectedness, reflecting advanced digital infrastructure and remarkable social engagement.​ Its "Digital Wellbeing Program" and the Council for Digital Wellbeing, promote digital literacy, safe online behavior, and quality content exposure. The Index also highlights common challenges across countries that require focus, like the ability to disconnect.

Photo Source: PSB Ithara Digital Wellbeing Global Research

Announcing the findings, Wadha Alnafjan, Head of Digital Wellbeing (Sync) at Ithra, said, “Accelerating potential and inspiring minds is the core ethos of everything we do at Ithra. This deep data dive for this global survey reflects thousands of hours of hard work by several teams. In turn, this shows our collective passion, enabling us to better understand how talent and creativity can thrive at home and across international borders in a vastly digital era.”

She added, “These exclusive insights are especially important in today’s world, as we live in the most transformative time in modern human history – and technology is a primary driver of that change. Already, approximately 65% of the global population is online, equating to more than 5 billion people. The DWI clearly shows that the many stakeholders engaged in the digital ecosystem need to take action to ensure that digital technologies have a positive impact on humanity. We hope that this research will enable actors to drive ambitious measures to protect the most vulnerable from negative side effects of technology.”

Photo Source: PSB Ithara Digital Wellbeing Global Research

Fahad AlBeyahi, Lead of Sync’s Research Workstream at Ithra, highlighted the importance of continual improvements, “The benefits of the hyper speed, convenience, and learnings we gain from embracing digitalization in our lives is nigh impossible to summarize. Equally, no system is perfect. Finding solutions to today’s challenges will present even more opportunities, so we must keep learning and exploring.”

He added, “Embedding digitalization into our lives brings endless potential, but also challenges that can be resolved with effective management. The survey highlighted negative and harmful experiences still prevalent across social media, calls for more regulation around AI, and for people to have greater transparency over data collection.”

The report can be downloaded at sync.ithra.com.