1PEW RESEARCH CENTERpewresearchAbout Pew Research CenterPew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudesand trends shaping America and the world. It does not take policy positions. It conducts publicopinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social scienceresearch. The Center studies U.S. politics and policy; journalism and media; internet, science andtechnology; religion and public life; Hispanic trends; global attitudes and trends; and U.S. socialand demographic trends. All of the center’s reports are available at pewresearch. PewResearch Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder. For this project,Pew Research Center worked with Elon University’s Imagining the Internet Center, which helpedconceive the research and collect and analyze the data.Pew Research Center 20182PEW RESEARCH CENTERpewresearchStories From Experts About the Impact of Digital Life Technology experts and scholars have never been at a loss for concerns about the current andfuture impact of the internet.Over the years of canvassings by Pew Research Center and Elon University’s Imagining theInternet Center, many experts have been anxious about the way people’s online activities canundermine truth, foment distrust, jeopardize individuals’ well-being when it comes to physical andemotional health, enable trolls to weaken democracy and community, compromise human agencyas algorithms become embedded in more activities, kill privacy, make institutions less secure,open up larger social divisions as digital divides widen, and wipe out untold numbers of decent- paying jobs. An early-2018 expert canvassing of technology experts, scholars and health specialists on thefuture of digital life and well-being contained references to some of those concerns. The expertswho participated in that research project were also asked to share anecdotes about their ownpersonal experiences with digital life. This report shares those observations. Specifically, the participants in the nonscientific canvassing were asked: Please share a brief personal anecdote about how digital life has changed yourdaily life, your family’s life or your friends’ lives in regard to well-being – somebrief observation about life for self, family or friends. Tell us how thisobservation or anecdote captures how hyperconnected life changes people’swell-being compared to the way life was before digital connectivity existed.Many of these experts wrote about a number of powerful ways digital life makes things better.Some themes:3PEW RESEARCH CENTERpewresearchThe remainder of this report draws from elaboration of these ideas by respondents who sharedanecdotes and observations. It is broken into three chapters: 1) anecdotes and comments about thepositives of digital life; 2) anecdotes and comments about potentially harmful aspects of that life;and 3) responses in which people’s statements or anecdotes were fairly evenly split with both prosand cons of digital life. Some responses are lightly edited for style.Themes about the personal impacts of digital lifeTHE POSITIVESOF DIGITAL LIFE +GloriousconnectednessMany argued that the internet has provided one of the greatest boons toindividuals: the ability to reach out and connect directly with friends, family,colleagues, knowledge, education, entertainment and more anywhere globally atany time in a nearly free and frictionless manner.+ Invent, reinvent,innovateDigital tools enable people to invent or reinvent their lives and careers. They canalso innovate through wide networking with people and information that allowsthem to develop businesses, find the perfect job, and meet soulmates,colleagues, new friends and fellow interest-sharers. + Life-saving adviceand assistancePeople can tap into and share medical, safety and health resources and supportat a moment’s notice, which is crucial for personal health and a game-changerfor people engaged in child and elder care. + EfficienttransactionsThese experts also hailed the way the internet revolutionizes life logistics andexperiences. They cited benefits including accessing online education,researching purchases, finding the best options for anything, making quick-hitsocial connections, planning trips, or coordinating activities – which allow peopleto be more mobile, savvy and globally enriched. THE NEGATIVESOF DIGITAL LIFE -ConnectednessoverloadLow-friction instant access to nearly everything, anytime, anywhere is causingstress, anxiety, sleeplessness and loss of patience. Some experts noted thatthey witness people missing out on or diminishing important face-to-face socialinteractions and experiences. Some also noted that work demands andentertainment lures tug away at users 24/7/365 and that there is a loss ofattention to “real life.” - Trust tensions The business model of internet platforms is mostly built on an attention economythat rewards addictive products that heighten users’ emotions and perpetuatepolarization. In addition, there are concerns among experts about issues ofsecurity, surveillance and privacy. - Personal identityissuesSelf-promotion, narcissism, click bait, trolling, propaganda and pressures toconform have become dominant in social networks, causing some individuals toexperience the loss of self-confidence and self-esteem. This encourages them tolose faith in others and adopt a negative world view. - Focus failures Digital life fosters shallow engagement with information as people glide throughmultiple information streams daily, taking little time for reflection. People have adiminishing capacity to concentrate well enough to stay on task and do long- term, deep-dive thinking.PEW RESEARCH CENTER and ELON UNIVERSITY’S IMAGINING THE INTERNET CENTER 。。。。。。