Wellbeing in the Digital Age

Human health is a dynamic entity which in order to function properly, requires balance between physical activity, food, rest and care of mind. In today’s fast-paced world, maintaining this balance can be challenging – stress, poor sleep, sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy eating habits easily creep into our everyday lives. Whether we take care of the balance of our bodies and minds or not, everyday choices shape our health in the long term.

In the age of open communication, you would think it´s clear to everyone what a healthy lifestyle is made of. Our own mirrors, social media and studies also consistently remind us which factors reduce the risk of serious diseases and improve the quality of life. Yet still, how difficult is it to challenge yourself to exercise regularly, so that you break a sweat and some adrenalin, when you can choose the easy “high” offered by the social media or binge watching? How complicated is it to prepare nutritious food yourself from good ingredients when you can simply eat out or order large meals from Wolt or Foodora almost warm to the table? No reason to go to bed on time, because you must stay awake not to miss a thing in a digital world? And no, you can't sleep long and peacefully because you are busy working in a world where much is already ready. Why make time for family and friends, when you can just be “present” online all the time. Among this, do you remember to stop and listen to yourself before you return to burn to ashes on the altar of overachievement?

Technology: Good servant, very bad master

Fortunately, apart from binge scrolling today's digital world also offers effective, constantly evolving tools to support healthier choices. Digital health technologies, such as activity monitors and smartwatches, remind you to move, hydrate or take breaks during the day. Some smart devices are able to analyze your sleep, monitor sleep quality and suggest improvements and stress management methods. A variety of wellness apps help track our activity in different ways. Nutrition apps help guide nutrition, plan meals, and track calorie intake. Fitness apps support physical activity. Sleep apps monitor your sleep. Mindfulness solutions help with mental health. Supply gets wider every day.

English proverb

Smart use of digital services can contribute to healthier lifestyles, especially when used mindfully and when designed with human well-being as a target. This means, for example deploying features that reduce or limit the screen time, elements that inspire real-life interaction, virtual and material rewards that recognizes activity not based on excessive screentime or social features such as sharing achievements and progress, online and on-site. Technology is a great servant as a tool. Digital impact can change our habits towards a positive direction and make a healthy life more easily achievable and the change more sustainable. Yet on the other hand, if we cannot design, develop or consume technology consciously aiming to limit excessive use, it will, in the worst case, become a master who burns like a wildfire; Sweeps overs our minds, burns exiting social structure to ashes and causes pain for the mind, the body and the people around us.

Whether the role of technology for you is serving or slaying, its future is already being built in every sector with great speed. For example, we are working on a smart, gamified artificial intelligence ( AI) based digital service called Bodibuddy. We connect and analyze various areas of well-being; physical exercise, nutrition, sleep and mind to offer holistic individual support and to connect you with suitable well-being professionals according to your needs. We train AI to inspire you to balance your life so that you can be the master of your own well-being! Whether you are looking for a new lifestyle or want to optimize your current everyday life, Bodibuddy is your flexible, digital well-being coach towards a healthier and happier life.

Are you interested in becoming our Buddy and know more about technology as a servant for your own well-being? You are welcome to answer a short survey and also be among the first few people to join the Test & Train crew for Bodibuddy AI, that we are building to serve human well-being! If you are a Master of Well-being, a well-being service provider or a professional, please answer the survey here.