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    The

    InormationDividend:

    Prepared or BCS, The Chartered Institute or IT by Trajectory Partnership.

    September 2010

    Why IT makes

    you happier

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    Enabling the Inormation Society

    BCS, The Chartered Institute or IT is working to enable the inormation

    society. One o our goals is to help people understand how their lives can

    be improved by understanding, having access to and being able to use

    inormation and inormation technology better.

    The Institute commissioned this study, The Inormation Dividend: Why

    IT makes you happier, in order to stimulate debate about the social

    contribution o inormation and inormation technology to the happinesso nations and individuals.

    Earlier reports rom the study took a quantitative look at the link

    between access to and use o inormation technology and well-being

    or lie satisaction, as well as looking at inormation well-being across

    countries. This nal report brings all our ndings together, tests our

    earlier hypotheses and builds a bigger picture o our initial

    conclusions by adding a qualitative analysis o inormation well-being

    in Great Britain.

    The Institute believes that the social and personal benets o inormation

    and IT outweigh the negatives or the majority. Inormation technology

    and inormation may even make us happier on balance, as this study

    suggests. We do not pretend that inormation and inormation technology

    are inherently benecial. The Inormation Society, as we see it, should be

    a place where inormation technology is used to improve lie satisaction

    and support our individual and collective goals, not to erode or undermine

    them. Serving that purpose is what makes IT a true public proession.

    INTRODUCTION

    Elizabeth Sparrow, President, BCS, The Chartered Institute or IT

    1

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    Academics, policy makers and social scientists want to identiy what

    makes people happy and apply those insights to social and economic

    policy. Our research has ound a relationship between inormation

    and IT and happiness that has not traditionally been well investigated.Tracing these connections is dicult or lots o reasons, as our long

    and complex journey shows. However, the Institute believes that this

    eort is incredibly important given the increasing number o ways in

    which our lives are touched by inormation technology. We have ound

    a relationship between IT and well-being, and hope that our research

    is just the rst step towards new and improved thinking, strategies and

    solutions that use IT to benet everyone.

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    OverviewConventional wisdom particularly as portrayed in the media assumes

    that the positive impact o IT on productivity and earnings comes at a

    cost to our lie satisaction. The research presented in this report has

    tested that assumption, and ound the reverse. Our analysis o global

    and UK data sets shows that IT has a direct positive impact on lie

    satisaction, even when controlling or income and other actors known to

    be important in determining well-being.

    The analysis suggests an even greater indirect eect on lie satisaction

    by giving a sense o reedom and control, which is known to improve

    lie satisaction. The research reveals a number o important eects

    o IT, including some dierences across gender and incomes in how IT

    empowers people and improves their lives.

    EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

    2

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    Enabling the Inormation Society

    This analysis made use o international and UK data-sets to establish

    a global model or how IT impacts on well-being, ollowed up by more

    detailed qualitative and quantitative primary research within the UK.

    The objective o the research presented in this report was to assess

    any impact IT access and usage has on lie satisaction or well-being.

    The research took place in the context o an increasing ocus on

    well-being, rather than narrower economic measures o perormance,

    among academics and policy makers. It also took place in a context

    where media coverage oten assumes that ITs impact on society is

    negative, despite the act that relatively little in-depth research has

    been undertaken on the topic.

    Our analysis o global and UK data sets shows that IT has a direct

    positive impact on lie satisactioneven when controlling or income

    and other actors known to be important in determining well-being.

    The analysis also suggests that IT has an indirect, enabling and

    empowering role leading to a greater sense o reedom and control

    which in turn leads to greater lie satisaction. Thus, the impact o IT is,

    in act, even greater than the direct correlations alone.

    IT empowers the disempowered Much o the improvement in lie satisaction that arises rom

    inormation technology ows to those on lower incomes or with ewer

    educational qualications what we might call the disempowered

    groups in society.

    The international analysis revealed that some o the biggest increases

    in IT-related lie satisaction occurred among those who had low

    incomes (relative to others in their own country) and those who had

    ew or no educational qualications.

    A similar pattern emerged in our more detailed analysis in the UK.

    However, here the major increases in IT-related lie satisaction

    came to low to mid income groups (those with a household income o

    14,000 to 28,000). The lowest income group (under 14,000) which

    includes a large number o retired people, beneted less in terms o

    lie satisaction rom their access to IT.

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    The digital gender divide Women gain more than men rom access to and usage o technology.

    This is particularly true or women in developing nations. One reason

    or this might be that in many parts o Arica, Asia, and the Middle East

    women have socially controlled roles which may lead to a lower sense

    o reedom and autonomy and hence well-being.

    Women in Britain also gain greater increased lie satisaction than

    men rom the use o IT. The social contact acilitated by IT seems

    particularly important to women in the UK.

    Men and women seem to have a dierent relationship to IT and the

    internet. For men there is a link between requency o use and liesatisaction, with those who use IT most getting the biggest boost to

    lie satisaction. There is no such correlation or women.

    In the UK we were able to look at the impact o IT on dierent aspects

    o lie satisaction, as well as its impact on overall satisaction.

    Internet access provides an uplit in satisaction with health and this is

    more so or women than men.

    Biggest uplit in well-being is achieved among new users A big improvement in lie satisaction (rom one year to the next) is

    associated with being newly connected to the internet. Getting online

    brings an improvement in lie satisaction whatever the gender o the

    new internet user.

    New users o the internet (less than two years experience) are most

    interested in and derive most benet rom social uses o the internet

    such as social networking and instant messaging. More experienced

    users attach greater importance to email and online shopping. It may

    also be the case that these more experienced users, who rst went

    online well beore the advent o social networking sites, have been

    slower to adopt social networking.

    Though the biggest positive impact is elt among new users, this is

    not to say that IT has a negative impact on more experienced users.

    Indeed, ndings rom the primary research in the UK, suggest that any

    restriction o IT access or usage would have a strong negative impact

    on the well-being o experienced users.

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    The important social role o IT This research has demonstrated that the social role o IT is

    undamental to the lie satisaction uplit experienced by both women

    and new users o the internet - two groups that derive large increases

    in lie satisaction rom IT.

    This is an important and new nding, as it challenges both the loner

    stereotype o IT users and the assertion that IT use is somehow linked

    to social isolation. Rather, this research reveals that many people

    benet rom the additional social contact with amily and riends that

    is acilitated by IT, and that this is the biggest positive contribution that

    IT makes to their lives.

    The international Inormation Well-being league table Our international Inormation Well-being Index (IWB), when adjusted

    or GDP, suggests that Zambia outperorms 38 other nations in

    delivering the benets o IT to its citizens. Other developing countries,

    such as Malawi, do well in the league table.

    China is at the bottom o the IWB league table. This makes intuitive

    sense given the relatively restricted access to the internet available

    in China.

    The UK is in 11th place in the IWB league table. This is a reasonable

    result given that the UK outperorms the US and comparable

    European neighbours like France and Germany. However, it

    does suggest there is room or improvement i the UK wishes to

    perorm like other European pace-setters such as Sweden and the

    Netherlands. The ndings rom this research suggest that the most

    substantial gains in IT-related lie satisaction in the UK would come

    through providing access or those on low incomes and with ewest

    educational qualications.

    Finally, perhaps the most signicant nding o this research is the

    identication o a statistically signicant link between IT access and

    usage and increased lie satisaction - both internationally and in the

    UK. These ndings demonstrate that IT does have a positive impact on

    society and that the benets o IT extend beyond the purely economic

    which have been established by previous research.

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    This report seeks to establish any impact that IT access and usage has on

    lie satisaction or well-being. More specically, i a link between IT and

    increased lie satisaction is identied, we want to explore:

    Which types o people benet most rom their use o IT?

    How and why IT might inuence lie satisaction?

    What the implications o this might be or the IT proession and

    public policy?

    BACKGROUND

    3

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    Our research involved a number o dierent elements that are brought

    together or the rst time in this report. The rst phase o research

    involved the analysis o large global social research data sets toestablish whether there was a link between IT access and usage and

    lie satisaction.

    This global analysis was ollowed up by in-depth research into how IT

    access and usage inuences lie satisaction in the UK. Our research in

    the UK included a unique analysis o data rom the British Household

    Panel Survey plus original primary qualitative and quantitative

    research programmes.

    Well-being has become a hot topic in recent years and has received

    much attention rom academics and politicians alike. (See, or example,

    the work o Richard Layard, and recent publications like the Social

    Market Foundations Well-being: How to lead the good lie and what

    government should do to help (July 2009), amongst a plethora o works.

    Indeed there is now a Journal o Happiness Studies.)

    Generally speaking, the question which emerges rom this work is: why

    is peoples sense o well-being not increasing in line with the greaterwealth and opportunities a modern society can generate?

    Given modern societys reliance on IT, a natural progression to this

    question is: does inormation technology add to, or detract rom, peoples

    well-being? Surprisingly little research has been done on the role o IT

    in inuencing peoples satisaction with lie (though a recent publication,

    Technology and Psychological Well-being, does address the topic).

    In act, where IT is mentioned in relation to well-being it is oten

    negative, with a stream o media reports suggesting it causes isolation,

    atomisation or even contributes to the problems o childhood obesity.

    A general concern is that technology gives greater weight to the values

    o eciency, productivity, systemisation and speed over less easily

    measurable, but increasingly valuable issues o quality o lie (see,

    or example, the writings o Langdon Winner). Almost by implication,

    technology must surely reduce the quality o lie. But is this really true?

    This research programme sets out to assess this and ask whether there

    is an Inormation Dividend.

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    IT is linked to increased lie satisaction4.1Our research supports the hypothesis that IT plays a part in improving

    well-being. Increased IT access and usage does improve lie satisaction.

    It does so in two ways: one directly, the other indirectly.

    To investigate the link between IT and lie satisaction we conducted a

    number o regression analyses o over 35,000 responses to the World

    Values Survey (WVS) rom 39 countries around the world. The detailed

    results o the regression analyses are reported in the technical appendix

    at the end o this report. They show that Inormation Technology has,

    on average, a positive contribution across the globe to lie satisaction

    even when taking account o income (that has previously been shown to

    be an important actor in improving well-being). This nding was also

    conrmed by a similar analysis o 10,000 survey responses to the British

    Household Panel Study in the UK (BHPS) (or detailed ndings see the

    technical appendix).

    THE FINDINGS

    4

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    Further, both WVS and BHPS reveal an indirect link between IT access

    and usage and increased lie satisaction. Previous research on well-

    being by Inglehart et al has shown that having a sense o reedom and

    being in control o ones lie has a crucial and particularly importanteect on well-being (certainly as much as and maybe more so than

    income). Our research suggests that IT is a major actor in explaining a

    greater sense o reedom and control.

    To investigate the link between IT, sense o reedom and control and

    lie satisaction we conducted regressions using sense o reedom and

    control in place o lie satisaction, and ound a strong eect. Indeed,

    the eect o IT access on sense o reedom seems to be greater than its

    eect upon lie satisaction directly. As the coecients in table 2 in thetechnical appendix show, IT access is associated with a larger increase

    in a sense o reedom and control (+0.15) than that observed earlier or

    its eect on the scale o lie satisaction (+0.10).

    These results are consistent with a theory that IT access and usage helps

    to empower people and thus gives them a sense o reedom and being

    in control. From this increased sense o reedom and autonomy, peoples

    well-being is increased.

    A plausible model, thereore, is that access to and usage o IT helps to

    promote and enable empowerment and autonomy which then increases

    well-being in a manner that could be represented by the ollowing model:

    IT INCREASES thesense o reedom/control whichIMPROVES well-being

    Intuitively, the rst part o this model makes sense. It is pretty

    uncontroversial to argue that access to inormation, knowledge and

    other cultures is a positive development, as many developing countries

    have experienced. The second part o the model is well established as in

    the work by Inglehart et al.

    But, in addition, even when taking account o degree o reedom and

    sense o control, IT has a role independent o degree o reedom and

    sense o control, and makes a direct statistically signicant, positive

    impact on lie satisaction. Put simply, people with IT access are more

    satised with lie even when taking account o income and a sense oreedom and being in control.

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    The positive impact that IT has on lie satisaction was also reected

    in the ndings o our primary research in the UK. Participants in our

    qualitative research were, generally, very positive about the overall

    impact that IT has on their lives.

    Despite this, most initial comments were about the anxiety they elt

    around IT. Most had been earul o technology at some point in the past.

    Some had been almost technophobic. They still displayed some

    anxiety that they did not know enough about IT despite the act that most

    were very competent, even sophisticated, users o IT. The perceived pace

    o change:

    I think aaargh. Its advancing so much, as soon as youlearn one thing, thats going to be obsolete. Perhapsbecause I am in my ties I am stuck in my ways. I knowits the way orward and I check my emails and I can usea basic PC. Ater that I nd it mind boggling.(emale, London)

    You have to be brainy I think, and I am not.I think its wonderul but not or me.(emale, Midlands)

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    Nonetheless, discussions turned very quickly to a wide variety o

    positive and important ways in which IT impacted on their lives. For

    many respondents it was clear that, in a relatively short space o time,

    their relationship with IT had changed rom one o ear to one ojoy. For some it is not an exaggeration to claim that the use o IT had

    transormed their lives, oten very much or the better.

    It helps me to be very independent; I dont have to relyon anyone.(emale, London)

    It means Im connected - especially or us not in our owncountry we eel homesick and it makes us connected.Thats an amazing thing... Although its through acomputer it sounds odd, but it gives you a nice eeling.(male, London, born in Iran)

    Couldnt imagine living without the internet as whole. Itsbecome part o my lie in the last couple o years.(emale, London)

    Our quantitative research also ound positive attitudes about the impact

    o IT on well-being. Two thirds o respondents agreed that Having access

    to IT increases the quality o my lie (66%) and that Having access to

    IT increases the quality o peoples lives generally (67%). The positive

    responses to these questions outnumber the negative ones by two to one.

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    IT empowering the disempowered4.2Our analysis o both the WVS and BHPS allowed us to explore which

    groups o people in society derive most benet, in terms o increased lie

    satisaction, rom their use o IT. In act, much o the improvement in lie

    satisaction that arises rom inormation technology ows to those who

    are less well-placed in society. Those on lower incomes or with ewer

    educational qualications appear to benet more rom access to IT than

    those on higher incomes or with higher educational backgrounds. So, IT

    appears to empower the disempowered.

    The WVS suggests that this is the case across the globe and the BHPS

    conrms this picture in the UK. However, the regression analysis can

    only identiy the relationship between IT use and increased well-being;

    it cannot identiy the mechanism by which this happens. This was the

    ocus or our primary research in the UK.

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    Our qualitative research was conducted exclusively with those on low

    incomes and with ew educational qualications. It ound that IT was o

    benet to people in many dierent ways. Respondents commented on

    the general empowering role o IT in their lives allowing them accessto the same inormation as everyone else and, in the online arena, to

    have access to the same experiences as everyone else.

    In addition, a number o very specic benets o IT access and usage

    were reported rom positive emotional impacts on amily and social

    contact to the practicalities o arranging medical appointments. However,

    two benets o IT emerged as particularly important. The rst was the

    way in which IT was acilitating a second chance at education or our

    respondents who had let school with no or ew qualications.

    I let school with no qualications as my little boy isstarting school I am thinking about getting GCSEs inEnglish and Maths. I want to be able to condently helpmy son so I am looking through that side to do it on theinternet as I havent got time to go to College.(emale, Midlands)

    (IT) allowed me to progress in my job with the AIMStraining online. Without it I might not have my job.(male, Midlands)

    The second specic benet o IT access and usage was access to

    cheaper deals when shopping online. All our respondents had low

    disposable incomes and the savings that they made by shopping online

    made a huge dierence to their amily budgets. For our respondents, the

    savings that could be made by shopping on comparison websites were

    signicant, particularly in the current economic climate. For example,

    they might mean that a amily could aord to take a holiday that they

    would otherwise not have been able to aord.

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    I wouldnt like to lose the purchasingpower o the internet. Something likeights, Im not sure how you would buythem without it.

    (emale, London)

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    Bought my computer andcamcorder online, ound it muchcheaper online. The comparison

    websites are also marvellous.

    (emale, London)

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    40%

    50%

    60%

    70%

    80%

    90%

    Under

    14,000

    14,000

    - 25,000

    25,000

    - 41,000

    41,000

    - 62,000

    62,000 +

    Some respondents went urther and highlighted the unairness they

    elt that, prior to gaining internet access, they had to pay more or some

    products and services.

    Our quantitative research allowed us to compare attitudes and

    behaviours o disempowered groups with the rest o society. In many

    ways it reinorced the messages rom the WVS and BHPS analysis. The

    chart below shows that those on low to mid household incomes (14,000

    to 28,000) eel as positive as anyone about the impact o IT on the

    quality o their lives. (Nearly 50% o the under 14,000 income group are

    retired people, who use IT much less than other groups. This helps to

    explain why this group is somewhat less positive about the impact o IT

    on their lives).

    Those on low to mid incomes eel the positive eects o ITEect o income on % who agree that access to IT

    Base: All who work and have internet access (520)

    Increases the overall quality o my lie

    Increases the quality o peoples lives generally

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    The quantitative research also asked about satisaction with various aspects

    o lie. It revealed that in some areas it was those on low to mid incomes

    who seemed to be getting most benet rom their use o IT. For example,

    the chart below illustrates how those with relatively low household incomesseem to get most uplit in job satisaction rom more requent use o IT.

    (Again the results or the group with under 14,000 income are skewed by

    the presence o a large number o retired people who, obviously, do not work

    and are not generally requent users o the internet).

    Job satisactionEect o income and requency o internet use on average job

    satisaction (on scale o 1 7)

    Base: All adults who stated their income (676)

    A similar picture o the positive, equalising eects o IT access can be

    seen when looking at educational attainment. For example, the chart

    opposite shows that those with no educational qualications are as likely

    to report the positive impacts o IT on their social lives as any other group.

    3.0

    3.5

    4.0

    4.5

    5.0

    Under

    14,000

    14,000

    - 28,000

    28,000

    - 41,000

    41,000

    - 62,000

    62,000 +

    Use less oten / do not use

    Use pretty much every day

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    0

    10

    20

    30

    40

    50

    60

    70

    80

    Total No formal

    education

    Secondary/

    High School(NVQ 1-3)

    University

    Degree(NVQ4)

    Higher

    UniversityDegree (NVQ5)

    Low educational attainment does not reduce the positive impacto IT on social lieBy increasing contact with my riends, having access to IT means I

    get more out o my social lie

    Source: BCS, The Chartered Institute or IT / Trajectory Partnership

    Base: 795

    Proportion who agree, by education

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    IT benefts women more than men

    4.3Alongside income and education, our regression analysis o both the

    WVS and BHPS ound that gender is a critical actor (see tables 3 and

    4 in the technical appendix). Both the WVS and BHPS analysis suggest

    women gain greater satisaction than men rom the use o IT.

    The WVS analysis ound that whereas the impact o income and

    education is globally consistent, the gender eect is especially strong inthe developing world. The act that it occurs mainly in developing nations

    points to a possible explanation as well. The socially curtailed roles

    that women play in many parts o Arica, Asia, and the Middle East may

    lead to a lower sense o reedom and autonomy and thereore having

    access to IT allows women in such developing nations to overcome these

    socially imposed constraints.

    It is also likely that this nding reects the social networking role o

    women around the world. For example, in most cultures around theworld the emale/maternal connections are crucial in both amily

    and social networks. The general view being that women are more

    communal and indeed research has shown, or example, that many o

    the intergenerational contacts within amilies are managed and driven

    by women. As such, this may explain the importance o IT or women as

    a social and amily network support tool.

    In the UK, the BHPS ound that satisaction with lie is higher, on average,

    among women who are able to connect to, and use, the internet than

    among women who have no internet connection. In act, most o the

    improvement in lie satisaction that arises rom inormation technology

    is the result o women, rather than men, beneting rom access to and

    usage o technology.

    In the UK, mens lie satisaction was primarily improved by the indirect

    link to IT, through an increased sense o reedom and control. The direct

    impact o IT on mens lie satisaction was not so strong.

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    Our primary research in the UK shed additional light on why women, and

    women rom poorer backgrounds in particular, might see the greatest

    increase in lie satisaction rom IT access and usage. Our qualitative

    research produced the ollowing quotes rom a woman with two youngchildren, the youngest o whom was 10 weeks old.

    (The main benet o IT is) being in touch with people. Iam on my own quite a lot with two young children, its (anApple iPhone) either in my jeans pocket or by the side o

    my bed. Its an important part o my lie.(emale, Midlands)

    I go on (to Facebook) every day to see what everyone elseis up to. Its just to see there is lie outsidemy curtains because with the two little ones I am abit housebound.(emale, Midlands)

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    This womens husband worked as a long-distance driver, which meant

    she spent a lot o time alone with the children when he was away. The

    household income was below average so she did not have a great dealo disposable income or out o home leisure activities. For her, internet

    access, via an iPhone, was a lieline to the social lie she had enjoyed

    beore the birth o her second child. As women in the UK are still

    predominantly the main carers or young children, it is easy to see how

    IT, in these circumstances, can be a positive, lie-enhancing link to the

    outside world.

    The quantitative research also highlighted a subtle dierence in the

    relationships that men and women have with IT. The chart belowillustrates how mens overall lie satisaction increases in close relation

    to their requency o IT use (the more they use IT, the happier they seem

    to be). This was also true or mens satisaction with their jobs and social

    lives. No such direct relationship between requency o use and lie

    satisaction exists or women.

    Lie satisactionEect o gender and requency o internet use on average overall lie

    satisaction (on scale o 1 7)

    Base: All with home broadband internet access (789)

    4.0

    4.5

    5.0

    5.5

    6.0

    Men Women

    Use once a week or less

    Use 2-5 times a week

    Use pretty much every day

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    Which areas o lie beneft most rom IT

    access and usage?4.4As well as asking people to assess how satised they are with their lives

    in general, the BHPS also asks questions about a number o specic

    aspects o lie satisaction including the ollowing:

    Satisaction with health

    Satisaction with social lie Satisaction with house/at

    Satisaction with job

    As with overall lie satisaction, responses to questions about

    these individual elements, show signicant dierences between

    men and women.

    Satisaction with healthSatisaction with health is very strongly related to age. The older we arethe less satised we become with our health. Despite this, IT does

    have some impact upon the satisaction that people have with their

    health with those with internet access recording somewhat higher levels

    o satisaction.

    Womens satisaction with health varies somewhat dierently to that o

    men. An internet connection plays a stronger part in explaining variation

    in health satisaction among women, while age plays a weaker role.

    With womens health satisaction depending to a degree upon their level

    o social contact, it may be that the internet provides a boost to womens

    health satisaction by enabling broader social contact as well as through

    providing things like inormation to help women maintain their health.

    Satisaction with social lieThe idea that, or women, an internet connection plays a signicant

    social role in increasing satisaction is reinorced by our nding that

    satisaction with social lie increases with connection to the internet.

    For men, an internet connection is not a signicant predictor o levels osocial lie satisaction.

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    Satisaction with homeThe direct link between satisaction with ones home (whether house

    or at) and IT is not very strong. However, the indirect link between, IT,

    reedom and control and the satisaction that people have with theirhome is strong. For all adults, satisaction with ones house is quite

    eectively predicted by a model that includes variables or internet

    connection, control o lie and level o contact with riends.

    Satisaction with jobTechnology in the orm o access to the internet or IT does not play a

    signicant (positive or negative) role in the satisaction that people have

    with their jobs. However, job satisaction is associated with a greater

    eeling o control that people have over their lives. And this greater

    eeling o control is correlated with connection to the internet.

    Our quantitative research sheds additional light on the impact o

    requency o use o IT on the dierent elements o lie satisaction. Overall

    satisaction, job satisaction and satisaction with social lie all increase

    with higher requency o IT use. Satisaction with the use o leisure time

    and satisaction with amily lie do not increase with higher requency o

    IT use. In the latter case this is partly explained by the general levels o

    satisaction being so high (amily lie received the highest score o any o

    our lie satisaction measures, with a mean o 6.1 out o 7) that there islittle room or IT or anything else to have an additional positive impact.

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    4.0

    4.5

    5.0

    5.5

    6.0

    6.5

    Social lifeJob Family lifeLeisure time Life overall

    Internet use and satisactionAverage satisaction (on scale o 1 7) with various aspects o lie, by

    requency o home internet use satisaction (on scale o 1 7)

    Base: All who have broadband internet access at home (785)

    Use once a week or less

    Use 2-5 times a week

    Use pretty much every day

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    New IT connections create the biggest

    uplit in lie satisaction4.5As well as indicating how satised people are with their lives, the BHPS also

    provides inormation about whether peoples lie satisaction has improved

    or worsened (or remained unchanged) since the previous year. The survey

    also provides data to determine whether, among those with an internet

    connection, that connection was obtained within the past year or longer ago.

    The data reveal that there is a strong positive association between a newconnection to the internet and a positive change in overall satisaction

    (compared to the previous year), or both men and women.

    This suggests that the greatest positive impact o IT upon lie satisaction

    occurs during the period when an internet connection remains a novelty

    peoples satisaction with lie becomes less aected by IT as they

    become more experienced users o the internet. This makes intuitive

    sense. As we become accustomed to having IT around, its positive impact

    on lie satisaction is reduced somewhat.

    Our primary research suggests that despite potentially lower returns

    rom IT in terms o lie satisaction over time, the impact o IT never

    becomes negative. Rather, it seems that the relationship between IT

    and lie satisaction is asymmetrical, in the sense that i IT access and

    usage were to be withdrawn, lie satisaction would decrease. This was

    certainly the view o respondents in our qualitative research when they

    were asked to contemplate what lie would be like without IT access.

    It would be like a depression or a recession. It would be astep backwards. We would lose a lot and I dont think wecould cope now, because slowly we have lost the skills todo without.(male, London)

    Couldnt imagine living without the internet as whole. Its

    become part o my lie in the last couple o years.(emale, London)

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    These sentiments are reinorced by our quantitative research which

    ound that those with more experience o using the internet were,

    generally, more likely to display positive attitudes about the benets o

    IT access. This suggests they would be loath to lose the benets thatthey attribute to having access to IT even i some o the initial magic o

    internet access has worn o over the years.

    Eect o internet experience% o experienced and less experienced internet users who agree that

    Base: All who have internet access (811)

    However, the ndings around the impact o initial internet access suggest

    that the most signicant role that IT might play in increasing well-being

    is to enable those who are not currently connected to the internet to

    experience the uplit in lie satisaction that is associated with becoming

    connected to the internet or the rst time - both directly, through access

    to the lie enriching and nancially benecial content o the internet, and,indirectly, through an increased sense o reedom and control in ones lie.

    10%

    30%

    50%

    70%

    90%

    Internet makesit easier tomaintain

    relationships

    with my friendsand family

    Internet makesme moreproductive

    at work

    Internetproviding infoabout eventsmeans I get

    more out of mysocial life

    People whodont have

    internet accessmiss out on

    social contact

    Internet givesme access to

    online shoppingdeals that save me

    a significantamount of money

    Less than 2 years

    2 years +

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    Social use o the net the way to attract

    new users to the benefts o IT?4.6Our research conrms the ndings o a number o previous studies in

    showing that experienced users o IT are more likely to have more varied

    uses o technology.

    The chart below is taken rom our quantitative research and shows that

    more experienced internet users are more likely to use the internet

    or most types o usage (email, shopping etc). The exception is instantmessaging, which those new to the internet are just as likely to use as

    those with more experience. This may oer us an important clue as to

    what attracts new users to IT in the rst instance.

    What do you use the internet or?By number o years since rst used the internet

    Base: All who have internet access (811)

    20%

    30%

    40%

    50%

    60%

    70%

    80%

    90%

    100%

    E-mail Socialnetworking

    Chatting / instantmessaging

    Onlineshopping

    Playing games

    Less than 2 years

    2 years +

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    Our research shows that more experienced users value email and online

    shopping most highly. These are the things that they would miss most i

    they could not do them (see chart below). This contrasts sharply to the

    views (and usage) o new users o the internet. Not only is their usage othe internet not so dominated by email and shopping, they place less value

    on it. Less experienced users place greater value on social networking,

    instant messaging and internet gaming than experienced users.

    Which would you miss most, i you could not do it?By number o years since rst used the internet

    Base: All who have internet access (811)

    The greater value that newer users place on social internet applications

    makes sense given that less experienced users tend to be:

    Somewhat less satised with their social lives

    More likely to think that people who dont have the internet miss

    out on social contact

    0%

    10%

    20%

    30%

    40%

    50%

    60%

    70%

    E-mail Socialnetworking

    Chatting / instantmessaging

    Onlineshopping

    Playing games

    Less than 2 years

    2 years +

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    This suggests that emphasising the social benets o IT access and

    usage could be the best way o attracting current non-users to the

    internet. We believe this is a potentially important nding rom the

    research. It suggests that programmes that are designed to encouragenew users to try the internet or the rst time would be well advised to

    emphasise these social applications o the internet above all others.

    Further, this is particularly important given our earlier qualitative

    research ndings which showed that or many o the disempowered

    groups these IT-acilitated social contacts are crucial lielines to the

    outside world (or example or new mums and or new arrivals to the

    country). The contacts acilitated by social networks and the like are

    undamental to these peoples sense o well-being and are not therivolous distraction depicted in so much media coverage o Facebook

    and other social networks. This challenges both the stereotype o IT

    users as loners and the assertion that IT is linked to or a cause o social

    isolation. Indeed, on our evidence, it seems likely that it is the social

    applications o IT that deliver most benet to society as a whole.

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    Country dierences in the lie

    satisaction benefts o IT (The InformationWell-being Index)4.7

    Finally, our analysis o the WVS allowed us to assess and compare

    the dierential lie satisaction benets achieved in the 39 dierent

    countries that participated in the survey. To do this we created theInormation Well-being Index (IWB Index). Here Inormation Well-being is

    dened as the extent to which citizens and consumers are able to use

    IT to communicate, maintain social ties, and keep inormed o events.

    The IWB Index is constructed o 11 dierent indicators. Given the

    importance o a sense o reedom and control in well-being, the index

    incorporates not only IT access and usage but also two measures o

    reedom and control. The indicators are as ollows:

    1. Population covered by mobile telephony (%) Source, WorldDevelopment Indicators (WDI)

    2. Mobile phone subscriptions per capita - Source, InternationalTelecommunication Union

    3. Broadband subscribers (% o total internet subscribers) Source, WDI

    4. International internet bandwidth (bits per person) Source, WDI

    5. Secure internet servers (per million people, 2008) Source, WDI

    6. Proportion o respondents saying technology making my lieeasier Source, World Values Surveys (WVS)

    7. Proportion o respondents avouring more emphasis ontechnology Source, WVS

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    8. Average sense o reedom and control in lie Source, WVS

    9. Proportion who see sel as autonomous Source, WVS

    10. Proportion who have checked news online in last week Source, WVS

    11. Proportion who have used a computer in the last week Source, WVS

    The indicators are standardised, aggregated, and then rescaled rom 0-1.

    We can thus produce a table ranking the best to the worst perormers on

    the index (see table 8 in the technical appendix).

    On the basis o this index, Sweden perorms best in terms o IWB, closelyollowed by the Netherlands and then the United States and the UK.

    Countries at the bottom o the index include Ethiopia, Vietnam and Mali.

    However, this simple index correlates strongly with GDP per capita (not

    surprisingly given the inrastructure related components o the index).

    See the chart below.

    IWB and GDP per capita

    $0

    $5,000

    $10,000

    $15,000

    $20,000

    $25,000

    $30,000

    $35,000

    0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0

    Germany Canada

    United States

    Netherlands

    Finland

    Italy

    Korea, Rep

    Agentina

    Uruguay

    Chile

    Brazil

    Australia

    UK

    Sweden

    Japan

    France

    Slovenia

    Ethiopia Romania

    Zambia

    Vietnam

    Mali

    India

    China

    Ghana

    Ukraine

    Indonesia

    Burkina Faso

    Russian Federation

    Trinidad & Tobago

    Malaysia

    Mexico

    Columbia

    Bulgaria

    Poland

    IWB Index

    GD

    P

    percapita($)

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    Given the obvious impact o GDP on the IWB Index, a more inormative

    presentation o the data would be to take account o the impact o GDP.

    This shows which countries are able to use IT to best eect independent

    o their afuence as measured by GDP.

    This approach to the analysis, removing GDP eects, results in a

    strikingly dierent league table o IWB. Zambia comes top o the list,

    because it beats expectations or IWB based on its GDP by the most.

    China is bottom o the league in that it underperorms most in terms o

    actual IWB relative to that expected or a country with its level o GDP.

    Some countries remain relatively unchanged in the rankings. Sweden

    and The Netherlands remain ourth and th respectively in the adjusted

    table (compared to rst and second in the unadjusted table). The UKalls rom ourth place in the unadjusted table to eleventh place in the

    adjusted table. The United States alls even urther, rom third place in

    the unadjusted table to thirteenth in the adjusted table.

    The biggest loser on this basis is Japan which drops 17 places in the

    rankings, closely ollowed by France and Germany which both drop

    16 places. Mali shows the greatest climb in the rankings (+30) on the

    adjusted basis, just beating Zambia (+29) into second place.

    The ollowing table summarises the changes in rankings between the

    two approaches to calculating the index, and illustrates the biggest

    losers and gainers when the IWB Index is adjusted or GDP.

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    Final Ranking

    (Adjusted

    or GDP)

    Country Initial

    Ranking

    Change in

    ranking

    (+/-)1 Zambia 30 +29

    2 Moldova 24 +22

    3 Brazil 12 +9

    4 Sweden 1 -3

    5 Netherlands 2 -3

    6 Burkina Faso 34 +28

    7 Mali 37 +30

    8 Uruguay 16 +8

    9 Korea, Rep 7 -2

    10 Chile 14 +4

    11 United Kingdom 4 -7

    12 Australia 5 -7

    13 United States 3 -10

    14 Finland 6 -8

    15 Colombia 23 +8

    16 Italy 8 -8

    17 Ghana 33 +16

    18 Argentina 18 0

    19 Bulgaria 25 +6

    20 Canada 9 -11

    21 Slovenia 13 -8

    22 Mexico 21 -1

    23 Malaysia 20 -3

    24 Indonesia 31 +7

    25 Trinidad and Tobago 19 -6

    26 France 10 -16

    27 Germany 11 -16

    28 Romania 27 -1

    29 Ethiopia 39 +1030 Poland 22 -8

    31 Vietnam 38 +7

    32 Japan 15 -17

    33 India 36 +3

    34 Russian Federation 28 -6

    35 Ukraine 32 +3

    36 China 35 -1

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    Those countries that rise up the rankings on this measure are

    interesting cases because they must be doing something independent

    o their afuence to deliver the important lie satisaction benets o IT,

    highlighted earlier in this report, to their citizens. This may be due tothe importance placed on IT within public policy in those countries or

    other actors.

    Countries that all down the rankings on this measure are

    underperorming in terms o IWB or a country with their level o

    afuence. Whilst the relative impact o IT across dierent countries and

    cultures is complex (it is highly possible, or example, that issues like

    geography and population density will have an impact), policy makers in

    these countries may want to examine these ndings in more depth. Thismight help them to understand why they are, apparently, not delivering

    greater benets rom IT to their people.

    Table 9 in the technical appendix shows the ull IWB Index adjusted or GDP.

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    WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR IT?

    5Evidence rom a range o research sources presented in this report all

    suggest a positive link between IT access and usage and lie satisaction.

    Neither we, nor the participants in our research, are saying that thebenets o IT access are all positive. Rather, we are saying that, on

    balance, IT makes a positive contribution to lie satisaction. As one o

    our qualitative research respondents put it:

    For all the rightening stuf that could happen (with IT),the empowerment actually does happen.(emale, London)

    We have also seen that both internationally and in the UK - IT has the

    power to enrich the lives o disempowered groups (those on low incomes

    and with ewest educational qualications) the most. Given this, the

    challenge is to promote the roll-out and correct usage o technology so

    that it continues to improve lie or as many people as possible. In this,

    we agree with Yair Amichai-Hamburger who argued in a recent article in

    New Scientist magazine that what was needed was:

    that autonomy, competence, relatedness and critical thinking are

    the best ways to establish a balanced approach to technology, and so

    enhance our well-being.

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    This suggests (at least) six issues or debate on the uture o IT and

    well-being:

    Enabling greater access to IT and the internet and acceleratingaccess to broadband clearly has a positive impact on those who

    are most disadvantaged in society. This research establishes more

    emphatically than ever beore that these benets are not just

    economic but also social.

    Empowering benecial use o inormation and communications

    technology through education.

    Design and innovation ocused on improving well-being andlie satisaction.

    Technophobia remains a barrier to trial and usage. This research

    shows that once these barriers are overcome, internet access and

    IT usage result in a signicant and almost immediate uplit in lie

    satisaction which produces an equality eect. The appropriate

    portrayal o IT use - particularly social networking and other social

    aspects o IT use - that are so oten the subject o scorn in the media

    and public policy arenas should be addressed. This may be a lessonor social marketers and others such as charities dealing with the

    issue o digital access and equality.

    The proession and policy makers may want to address the sense

    ound among our qualitative research participants that IT is complex

    (and thereore dicult to understand and to derive benets rom)

    and that the pace o change is so rapid as to readily render obsolete

    whatever skills they acquire.

    Women are the key beneciaries o access to IT in the UK and in

    developing countries. Focusing on enabling them to overcome the

    social, educational, and personal ear o IT may be a step towards

    accelerating solutions to the digital exclusion problem. This may

    require a re-thinking o attitudes to involving women in technology

    education as well as targeting them rom a social policy point o view.

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    Analytic methodThe research programme started with an analysis o data rom across

    the globe using the World Values Survey (WVS), a recognised source

    o behavioural, social values, cultural and well-being measures that

    has been used in the past or many international comparative studies.

    Subsequently we have conducted a more detailed analysis o the United

    Kingdom using alternative data sources.

    The WVS analysis involved looking at individual responses to the survey

    - in total, this meant around 35,000 respondents across the globe were

    included. We were interested in the relationship between IT usage and

    other actors including well-being. This allows or a detailed analysis o a

    range o actors (such as the importance o gender, age and education).

    World Values Survey1

    TECHNICAL APPENDIX

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    The main statistical technique used was multiple regression, allowing

    the relative, independent importance o each actor to be assessed in

    contributing, i at all, to well-being. Thus, income/wealth (oten measured

    at a national level by GDP per capita) is known to be correlated tomeasures o well-being. But can other actors, in addition to this, also

    increase lie satisaction? Research shows that they can. For example,

    Inglehart et al have shown that:

    Cross-sectional analysis o recent data confrms that economic

    development [measured by GDP] is indeed strongly linked with high levels

    o SWB [sel-reported well-being], but it also indicates that economic

    actors are only part o the story. Pooled time-series regression analysis

    suggests that religion, tolerance o outgroups, and a societys level o

    democracy are strong predictors o subsequent levels o SWB, controlling

    or economic development and a societys initial level o SWB.

    So, by using multiple regression, we can assert that GDP is not the only

    actor determining well-being, these other actors are important too.

    Indeed, Ingleharts work shows that in developed economies at least

    income/wealth is no longer the most important actor in improving

    satisaction with lie:

    Here, our fndings support Easterlins (2005) contention that research

    on happiness should not just ocus on economic growth, but also on

    noneconomic aspects o well-being. Economic growth makes a positive

    contribution to SWB, but it is the weakest o the three main actors.

    Our research, as presented in this report, indicates that access and

    usage o IT can be added to this list o actors that help to shape SWB.

    Further, it shows that IT not only has a direct impact on SWB, it also has

    the potential to positively interact with other actors (such as a sense o

    reedom and control) to have an even greater impact on SWB.

    Finally, we looked at the two standard measures o well-being rom the

    World Values Survey: sel-reported lie satisaction and sel-reported

    happiness. Oten these two are combined to produce a sel-reported

    well-being score. We looked at the combined score and both measures

    independently and each produced very similar results. For simplicitys

    sake we have thereore ocused on just the one measure lie satisaction and in the report use that term interchangeably with well-being.

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    The analysisAt the individual level, we ound an eect upon lie satisaction o access

    to inormation and communication technologies.

    The regressions (see table 1) control or a wide range o variables

    to estimate the eect o inormation access on quality o lie. The

    coecients suggest that being connected to IT increases lie satisaction

    by up to 0.1 points on a ten-point scale.

    The models in table 1 show the eect o having accessed internet in the

    past week to check the news upon reported lie satisaction on a scale

    rom 1-10. Four models were run with a dierent variable being added

    each time.

    The rst model includes controls or income, age, the square o age

    (whether people are very old), education, gender, and the size o your

    town. Country-xed eects are also controlled or, so these models

    automatically take account or nation-level attributes such as a

    countrys income per capita, degree o democratic governance, or

    national psychology.

    In order to check whether this inormation dividend is a consequenceo IT, rather than news in general, model 2 also includes a variable or

    whether the respondent has watched TV news in the last week. Having

    watched TV news is also signicantly and positively associated with lie

    satisaction, but the eect appears to be additive to that o IT accesses,

    whose eect remains the same.

    In model 3 we control or various occupational attributes, in case

    accessing IT requently is a consequence o having a regular job, or

    being a student. While unemployment, part-time work, and also being a

    housewie are all ound to be related to lie satisaction, the eect o IT

    access remains the same.

    In model 4, and in response to a cross-national analysis suggesting its

    importance, we add the question o sense o reedom and control which

    is immediately highly signicant and reduces the impact o IT and media,

    although they still remain signicant.

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    What this showed is that IT access and usage is a actor in improving

    well-being even when taking account o a range o other variables

    that have previously been shown to have a positive eect on lie

    satisaction. Second, it raised the question o whether IT itsel assistsin the promotion o a sense o reedom and being in control which, on

    the ace o it, seems a plausible proposition. This would imply an even

    greater importance or IT in lie satisaction through the indirect route o

    enhancing empowerment and autonomy.

    Thus, in table 2 we show the results o looking at the role o IT in

    promoting a sense o reedom and control. It shows that there is an

    important and statistically signicant eect o IT on this actor. Watching

    TV and some other actors are also statistically signicant.

    Finally, we observed that some eects were only apparent in developing

    nations so to test this we added some interactive terms (table 3). O the

    terms included, age did not come out as a signicant interactive term

    when combined with IT. So, or example, age is important in determining

    well-being but not when combined with internet access (in other words,

    older people do not benet in lie satisaction terms - any more rom IT

    access than other age groups).

    Gender, on the other hand was signicant, that is to say women benet

    rom IT access disproportionately to men. Also, o the variables tested,

    education and income were important those on lower incomes and with

    lower educational achievements benet most rom IT.

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    The modelsTable 1Eect o IT on Lie Satisaction, Individual Level

    Model

    (1) (2) (3) (4)

    Sense o reedom and

    control

    - - - 0.291*** (0.004)

    Accessed internet 0.1*** (0.027) 0.096*** (0.027) 0.094** (0.028) 0.056* (0.026)

    Watched TV - 0.185*** (0.038) 0.178*** (0.039) 0.099** (0.037)

    Gender 0.061** (0.022) 0.061** (0.022) 0.029 (0.023) 0.004 (0.021)

    Age -0.029*** (0.003) -0.029*** (0.004) -0.035*** (0.004) -0.030*** (0.003)

    Age2 0.297*** (0.037) 0.301*** (0.037) 0.348*** (0.044) 0.311*** (0.046)

    Education (years) 0.004* (0.002) 0.004* (0.002) 0.004* (0.002) 0.001 (0.002)

    Income 0.233*** (0.005) 0.232*** (0.005) 0.225*** (0.005) 0.188*** (0.005)

    Size o town -0.007 (0.005) -0.007 (0.005) -0.007 (0.005) -0.008 (0.005)

    Work part-time - - -0.097* (0.045) -0.076* (0.040)

    Sel-employed - - -0.045 (0.038) -0.035 (0.032)

    Retired - - -0.059 (0.048) -0.041 (0.046)

    Housewie - - 0.168*** (0.044) 0.135*** (0.042)

    Student - - -0.079 (0.048) -0.068 (0.044)

    Unemployed - - -0.396*** (0.042) -0.321*** (0.038)

    Other - - -0.259*** (0.071) -0.188*** (0.067)

    Constant 5.598*** (0.394) 4.874*** (0.129) 5.801*** (0.397) 4.401*** (0.241)

    n 33675 33632 33159 31359

    r2 0.19 0.19 0.19 0.32

    Note: The asterisks represent statistical signicance and are used in the

    conventional way

    * p< 0.1, ** p< 0.05, *** p< 0.01 where p is the probability o getting this

    result by statistical accident.

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    Table 2Eect o IT on Sense o Freedom and Control, Individual Level

    Model

    (1) (2) (3)

    Accessed internet 0.158*** (0.029) 0.153*** (0.029) 0.148*** (0.029)

    Watched TV - 0.252*** (0.041) 0.238*** (0.041)

    Gender -0.06** (0.023) -0.058* (0.023) -0.029 (0.024)

    Age -0.007 (0.004) -0.008* (0.004) -0.015*** (0.004)

    Age2 0.061 (0.04) 0.068 (0.04) 0.133** (0.048)

    Education (years) 0.011*** (0.002) 0.011*** (0.002) 0.01*** (0.002)

    Income 0.127*** (0.006) 0.126*** (0.006) 0.119*** (0.006)

    Size o town 0.003 (0.006) 0.003 (0.006) 0.002 (0.006)

    Work part-time - - -0.065 (0.048)

    Sel-employed - - 0.063 (0.041)

    Retired - - -0.049 (0.051)

    Housewie - - -0.104* (0.047)

    Student - - -0.173** (0.051)

    Unemployed - - -0.287*** (0.045)

    Other - - -0.161* (0.076)

    Constant 5.329*** (0.135) 5.631*** (0.427) 5.93*** (0.43)

    n 33446 33406 32938

    r2 0.09 0.1 0.1

    Note: The asterisks represent statistical signicance and are used in the

    conventional way

    * p< 0.1, ** p< 0.05, *** p< 0.01 where p is the probability o getting this result by

    statistical accident.

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    Table 3Eect o IT on Lie Satisaction with various variable/IT interaction terms

    Model

    (1) (2) (3) (4)

    Accessed internet -0.128 (0.075) 0.052 (0.069) 0.335*** (0.081) 0.583*** (0.064)

    Watched TV 0.177*** (0.039) 0.178*** (0.039) 0.175*** (0.039) 0.172*** (0.038)

    Gender -0.02 (0.027) 0.029 (0.023) 0.03 (0.023) 0.029 (0.023)

    Gender* Accessed internet 0.15** (0.047) - - -

    Age* Accessed internet - 0.001 (0.002) - -

    Education* Accessed internet - - -0.012** (0.004) -

    Income* Accessed internet - - - -0.09*** (0.011)

    Age -0.035*** (0.004) -0.035*** (0.004) -0.034*** (0.004) -0.034*** (0.004)

    Age2 0.348*** (0.044) 0.353*** (0.045) 0.347*** (0.044) 0.347*** (0.044)

    Education (years) 0.004* (0.002) 0.004* (0.002) 0.008*** (0.002) 0.004* (0.002)

    Income 0.225*** (0.005) 0.224*** (0.005) 0.224*** (0.005) 0.255*** (0.006)

    Size o town -0.007 (0.005) -0.007 (0.005) -0.008 (0.005) -0.008 (0.005)

    Work part-time -0.102* (0.045) -0.097* (0.045) -0.095* (0.045) -0.103* (0.045)

    Sel-employed -0.047 (0.038) -0.045 (0.038) -0.041 (0.038) -0.045 (0.038)

    Retired -0.057 (0.048) -0.058 (0.048) -0.059 (0.048) -0.059 (0.048)

    Housewie 0.18*** (0.044) 0.167*** (0.044) 0.172*** (0.044) 0.167*** (0.044)

    Student -0.079 (0.048) -0.077 (0.048) -0.077 (0.048) -0.085 (0.048)

    Unemployed -0.395*** (0.042) -0.397*** (0.042) -0.395*** (0.042) -0.396*** (0.042)

    Other -0.261*** (0.071) -0.259*** (0.071) -0.254*** (0.071) -0.259*** (0.071)

    Constant 5.881*** (0.398) 5.826*** (0.399) 5.698*** (0.398) 5.638*** (0.397)

    n 33159 33159 33159 33159

    r2 0.19 0.19 0.19 0.19

    Note:The asterisks represent statistical signicance and are used in the conventional way

    * p< 0.1, ** p< 0.05, *** p< 0.01 where p is the probability o getting this result by

    statistical accident.

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    Analytic methodThe British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) is a longitudinal panel

    survey run annually by the Institute o Social and Economic Research

    (ISER) at the University o Essex. Widely regarded as one o the best

    longitudinal studies in the world, the BHPS has tracked the attitudes and

    behaviour o a representative sample o 5,000 households in the UK,

    involving 10,000 individuals, on an annual basis since 1992.

    The BHPS provides inormation on many aspects o peoples daily lives

    (including their income, health, living standards, household tenure,

    accommodation, durable ownership, lie satisaction, time use and

    leisure behaviour) as well as recording peoples attitudes to their

    circumstances and a wide range o social issues.

    Because the BHPS is an on-going panel study, we were able to use

    BHPS data to track the degree to which individuals circumstances andattitudes change over time and how they change in response to dierent

    events in peoples lives.

    The BHPS is household-based, interviewing every adult member o

    the sampled households. This means that we can also explore the

    interactions between events in individuals lives and wider changes

    in the household. The large size o the panel means that we are able

    to conduct meaningul analysis o certain sub-groups in the general

    population, such as the group that is the subject o this research project.

    And again, because the BHPS is an on-going panel study, we are also

    able to track the degree to which individuals circumstances and

    attitudes change over time, and how they change in response to dierent

    events in peoples lives.

    British Household Panel Survey

    2

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    This report uses the questions that the Survey asks about the

    satisaction that respondents have with their lives in general, how this

    satisaction has changed in the past year, and their satisaction with

    elements o their lie including their job, health, house or at, partner,social lie and leisure time many actors inuence lie satisaction. To

    investigate how satisaction varies rom one person to another, this

    report considered BHPS questions covering income, age, employment

    status, computer and internet use, the extent o control that the

    respondent eels they have over their lie, and the requency with which

    the respondent meets riends and amily.

    The analysisThis data was analysed using the same regression modelling approach

    that was applied to the World Values Survey data (described above). As

    well as asking people to assess how satised they are with their lives in

    general, the British Household Panel Survey also probes the satisaction

    that people eel with regard to various elements that contribute to ones

    overall satisaction with lie. These elements include:

    Satisaction with health Satisaction with social lie

    Satisaction with house/at

    Satisaction with job

    Satisaction with leisure (both amount o leisure

    time and how it is used)

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    Table 4

    Overall lie

    satisaction

    All adults Women

    (1) (2) (3) (1) (2) (3)

    Frequency o

    meeting people

    - - 0.008

    (

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    Table 5

    Change in satisaction

    with lie overall

    Model

    All adults (1) (2) (3)

    (1) (2) (3)

    Connected to internet 0.04 (0.024) 0.03 (0.084) -

    Newly connected to internet - 0.12 (0.003) 0.13 (0.001)

    Age -0.01 0.068 (0.04) 0.133** (0.048)

    (

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    Table 6

    Satisaction with health All adults Women

    only

    (1) (2) (1) (2) (3)

    Frequency o meeting people - - - - 0.005 (0.048)

    Has control o lie - 0.30 (

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    Table 7

    Satisaction with social lie Women only

    (1) (2)

    Has control o lie - 0.43 (

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    Inormation Well-being Index3

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    The IWB Index is constructed o 11 dierent indicators as ollows:

    1. Population covered by mobile telephony (%) Source, World

    Development Indicators (WDI)

    2. Mobile phone subscriptions per capita - Source, InternationalTelecommunication Union

    3. Broadband subscribers (% o total Internet subscribers) Source, WDI

    4. International Internet bandwidth (bits per person) Source, WDI

    5. Secure Internet servers (per million people, 2008) Source, WDI

    6. Proportion o respondents saying technology making my lie easierSource, World Values Surveys (WVS)

    7. Proportion o respondents avouring more emphasis on technologySource, WVS

    8. Average sense o reedom and control in lie Source, WVS

    9. Proportion who see sel as autonomous Source, WVS

    10. Proportion who have checked news online in last week Source, WVS

    11. Proportion who have used a computer in the last week Source, WVS

    The indicators are standardised, aggregated, and then rescaled rom 0-1.

    We can thus produce a table ranking the best to the worst perormers on

    the index.

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    Table 8Simple IWB Index: Simple (unadjusted) country rankings

    IWB Index

    1 Sweden 0.98

    2 Netherlands 0.97

    3 United States 0.92

    4 United Kingdom 0.89

    5 Australia 0.88

    6 Finland 0.86

    7 Korea, Rep 0.84

    8 Italy 0.83

    9 Canada 0.83

    10 France 0.80

    11 Germany 0.79

    12 Brazil 0.78

    13 Slovenia 0.75

    14 Chile 0.74

    15 Japan 0.74

    16 Uruguay 0.73

    17 Taiwan 0.72

    18 Argentina 0.70

    19 Trinidad and Tobago 0.64

    20 Malaysia 0.63

    21 Mexico 0.62

    22 Poland 0.61

    23 Colombia 0.60

    24 Moldova 0.59

    25 Bulgaria 0.59

    26 Rwanda 0.37

    27 Romania 0.55

    28 Russian Federation 0.52

    29 Serbia 0.52

    30 Zambia 0.50

    31 Indonesia 0.44

    32 Ukraine 0.41

    33 Ghana 0.39

    34 Burkina Faso 0.38

    35 China 0.37

    36 India 0.34

    37 Mali 0.3338 Vietnam 0.32

    39 Ethiopia 0.16

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    The rst column in table 9 shows the simple IWB Index as in table 8 on

    the previous page. The second column, labelled IWB predicted shows

    the level o the IWB that we would have expected on the basis o just

    GDP. This is done using a regression analysis that relates IWB to GDP percapita only. The third column, IWB (actual minus predicted) shows the

    dierence between actual IWB and that predicted on the basis o

    GDP alone.

    For countries with a positive number that means that the actual IWB is

    higher than we would have expected on the basis o just GDP, while a

    negative numbers means that it is less than would be expected.

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    Table 9IWB Index adjusted or GDP

    IWB

    (calculated)

    IWB

    (predicted)

    IWB (Actual minus

    predicted)

    Sweden 0.98 0.47 Zambia 0.83

    Netherlands 0.97 0.40 Moldova 0.80

    United States 0.92 0.12 Brazil 0.52

    United Kingdom 0.89 0.17 Sweden 0.47

    Australia 0.88 0.16 Netherlands 0.40

    Finland 0.86 0.08 Burkina Faso 0.35

    Korea, Rep 0.84 0.26 Mali 0.32

    Italy 0.83 0.03 Uruguay 0.30

    Canada 0.83 -0.03 Korea, Rep 0.26

    France 0.80 -0.09 Chile 0.25

    Germany 0.79 -0.10 United Kingdom 0.17

    Brazil 0.78 0.52 Australia 0.16

    Slovenia 0.75 -0.05 United States 0.12

    Chile 0.74 0.25 Finland 0.08

    Japan 0.74 -0.29 Colombia 0.04

    Uruguay 0.73 0.30 Italy 0.03

    Taiwan 0.72 Ghana 0.02

    Argentina 0.70 0.01 Argentina 0.01

    Trinidad and Tobago 0.64 -0.08 Bulgaria -0.02

    Malaysia 0.63 -0.06 Canada -0.03

    Mexico 0.62 -0.05 Slovenia -0.05

    Poland 0.61 -0.22 Mexico -0.05

    Colombia 0.60 0.04 Malaysia -0.06

    Moldova 0.59 0.80 -0.07

    Bulgaria 0.59 -0.02 Trinidad and Tobago -0.08

    Rwanda 0.37 France -0.09

    Romania 0.55 -0,15 Germany -0.10

    Russian Federation 0.52 -0,33 Romania -0.15

    Serbia 0.52 Ethiopia -0.21

    Zambia 0.50 0.83 Poland -0.22

    Indonesia 0.44 -0.07 Vietnam -0.26

    Ukraine 0.41 -0.39 Japan -0.29

    Ghana 0.39 0.02 India -0.30

    Burkina Faso 0.38 0.35 Russian Federation -0.33

    China 0.37 -0.49 Ukraine -0.39

    India 0.34 -0.30 China* -0.49

    Mali 0.33 0.32Vietnam 0.32 -0.26

    Ethiopia 0.16 -0.21

    *There is no adjusted data or Taiwan, Rwanda or Serbia

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    The qualitative research took place ater the WVS and BHPS analysis

    had been completed. It ocused on the groups that were ound, in both

    the WVS and BHPS analysis, to have the biggest uplit in lie satisaction

    rom IT that is, women, those on low incomes and those with relatively

    ew educational qualications. The purpose o the qualitative research

    was twoold:

    To shed light on the WVS and BHPS ndings; to help us to

    understand why and how IT impacted on respondents lives

    To inorm the design o the quantitative research which ollowed

    (see section 5 p67)

    The qualitative research consisted o 10 in-depth interviews. We

    conducted 6 individual interviews and two paired depth interviews.Paired depth interviews were conducted either with the poorest

    respondents or those with no educational qualications.

    Interviews took place in London and Redditch, West Midlands (5

    respondents in each) on August 10 and 11 2010. Each interview lasted

    60 minutes.

    The sample was structured as ollows:

    7 women and 3 men

    London respondents had a maximum household income o 26,000

    per annum

    Redditch respondents had a maximum household income o

    20,000 per annum

    Some participants had incomes well below the maximum gure or

    each location

    No respondent had more than 5 GCSE/O Level A-C passes.

    Some had no ormal educational qualications at all

    Ages o the respondents ranged rom early 20s to early 60s All respondents were rom social grades C2, D, and E

    Qualitative Research Specifcation

    4

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    The nal phase o research was primary quantitative research in the UK.

    The quantitative research was designed to:

    Fill knowledge gaps rom the previous stages o research

    Help to explain how the relationships between IT and lie

    satisaction work

    The research consisted o telephone interviews with a nationally

    representative sample o 1,000 adults aged 18+ in Great Britain. The

    interviews were conducted by ICM Research. Fieldwork took place 20 to

    23 August.

    Questions covered:

    Detailed IT access and usage

    Lie satisaction

    Attitudes to the role IT plays in their lives

    Attitudes to the role IT plays in other peoples lives

    Quantitative Research Specifcation

    5

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    BIBLIOGRAPHY AND

    FURTHER READING

    Mentioned in the reportDelle Fave, A. (Ed), Journal o Happiness Studies, ISSN: 1389-4978,

    (www.springer.com/sociology/well-being/journal/10902, last accessedSept. 2010), Springer Netherlands

    Layard, R., Happiness: Lessons rom a New Science, Penguin, 2006

    Griths S. and Reeves R. (Eds), Well-being: How to Lead the Good Lie and

    What Government Should Do to Help, Social Market Foundation, July 2009

    Winner, L.,Autonomous Technology: Technics-out-o-control as a Theme or

    Political Thought, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1978

    Amichai-Hamburger, Y. (Ed), Technology and Psychological Well-being,

    Cambridge University Press, 2009

    Amichai-Hamburger, Y., Free Yoursel rom Oppression by Technology, in

    New Scientist, 27 December 2009

    Research sourcesBritish Household Panel Survey: www.iser.essex.ac.uk/survey/bhps

    World Values Survey: www.worldvaluessurvey.org

    Other writers on the potential negative aspects otechnology includeGalbraith, J. K., The New Industrial State, New York: The New American

    Library, 1967

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    Gleick, J., Faster: The Acceleration o Just About Everything, London:

    Abacus, 2000

    Neil Postman has written or years on technology and society. SeeAmusing Ourselves to Death, Methuen Publishing Ltd, new edition (Feb

    1987). See also his last book, Building a Bridge to the 18th Century,

    Vintage Books, 1999

    On IT and technologyWillmott, M. and Nelson, W., Complicated Lives: the Malaise o Modernity,

    London: John Wiley and Sons, 2005

    On a sense o reedom and controlEasterlin, R. A., Feeding the illusion o growth and happiness: A reply

    to Hagerty and Veenhove, Social Indicators Research, Vol. 74 No. 3,

    429 443, 2005

    Foa, R., Inglehart R. et al., Development, Freedom, and Rising Happiness:

    A Global Perspective 1981-2007, Perspectives on Psychological Science,

    Vol. 3, No. 4, 264-285, 2008

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    2010 British Inormatics Society Limited

    All rights reserved. Apart rom any air dealing or the purposes o

    research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted by theCopyright Designs and Patents Act 1988, no part o this publication

    may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any orm or by any

    means, except with the prior permission in writing o the publisher, or

    in the case o reprographic reproduction, in accordance with the terms

    o the licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries

    or permission to reproduce material outside those terms should be

    directed to the publisher.

    All trade marks, registered names etc acknowledged in this publicationare the property o their respective owners. BCS and the BCS logo are

    the registered trade marks o the British Computer Society charity

    number 292786 (BCS).

    Published by British Inormatics Society Limited (BISL), a wholly

    owned subsidiary o BCS, The Chartered Institute or IT First Floor,

    Block D, North Star House, North Star Avenue, Swindon, SN2 1FA, UK.

    www.bcs.org

    Disclaimer:

    The views expressed in this report are o the author(s) and do not

    necessarily reect the views o BCS or BISL except where explicitly

    stated as such. Although every care has been taken by the authors and

    BISL in the preparation o the publication, no warranty is given by the

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