Does Access To Technology Cause Happiness?

Research by BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT shows that access to technology can provide feelings of well-being. 35,000 people from all over the planet were interviewed for the study. The BBC reports on the findings:

It found that women in developing countries, and people of both sexes with low incomes or poor education, were most influenced emotionally by their access to technology. It is partly because women tend to have a more central role in family and other social networks, said researcher Paul Flatters of Trajectory Partnership, which conducted the research on behalf of the BCS. “Our hypothesis is that women in developing countries benefit more because they are more socially constrained in society,” he added.

The research also highlighted the social status that can come with tech ownership in some countries.

Ownership of technology is a status symbol in many cultures, according to Kathi Kitner, senior research scientist at Intel. While having a computer is considered synonymous with a good education worldwide, the emerging middle classes of India think it is also a sign of prosperity, she said. “Whether that prosperity in terms of monetary returns actually materialises is not documented, but it is very real in terms of perception,” she said.

BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT

BBC: “Technology linked to happiness, study claims”

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