Measuring a Richer Digital Life

We’re exploring how digital experiences can make everyday life feel more connected and engaging.

We’ve been told to put down our phones, cut back on screen time, and disconnect from technology to reconnect with life. But what happens after the digital detox?

After the Digital Detox is The Good Life Lab’s interactive public research project exploring whether a better digital life is about more than simply using technology less. What happens when we use it differently?

The study looks at how smartphones, social media, and AI shape our attention and behaviour, and what people want from a better relationship with technology. It explores the habits, choices, and design features that influence whether technology pulls us in or helps us do something we value.

We’re asking people to help us investigate one big question: Can the technologies often blamed for making us more distracted, lonely, and disconnected also help us become more creative, curious, and engaged with the world and people around us?

FLAGSHIP RESEARCH INITIATIVE

After the Digital Detox

Take the survey

INTERACTIVE SURVEY

Can technology designed to capture our attention also help us direct it somewhere worthwhile? Our community digital literacy workshops give us a practical place to explore that question.

Participants who choose to take part in the research can tell us how different activities affect their curiosity, creativity, connection, and engagement beyond the screen.

We’re especially interested in what happens next. Does an AI conversation inspire someone to keep exploring? Does a smartphone activity make them notice their surroundings differently? Does technology spark a conversation, a creative act, a visit somewhere new, or an experience they might otherwise have missed?

We don’t assume technology makes life better simply because it can do impressive things. We want to discover when it actually does.

FIELD RESEARCH IN ACTION