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Robert W. McChesney is the Gutgsell Endowed Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is the author of some two dozen books on media and political economy, including Digital...

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• The Digital Disconnect: The widening gap between Internet-savvy students and their schools
• Part III: Conclusions and Implications

Table of Contents

• Summary of findings
• Part I: Background and Introduction
• Part II: Main Findings
• Part IV: Appendices

The Digital Disconnect

• “Overall, I really think that the Internet has a great impact on how much I learn at school and without it I don’t think that I would have the opportunities to learn as much as I do.” – High School Girl
• “We learn so much from just one click of the mouse.” – High School Girl

The public policy debate surrounding the use of the Internet for education is full of hyperbolic claims for its future impact.  Some promote the Internet as a silver bullet for education, asserting that its use in schools will transform teaching and learning, raise scores on standardized achievement tests, and improve teacher quality to the degree that ill-prepared middle and high school students will turn—as if by magic—into Ivy League-caliber honors students.  Others argue that the introduction of the Internet into schooling is a symptom of a society that values technology and efficiency over moral values and personal connections, and that it represents the further encroachment of big business into private spaces and personal lives.  Our conversations with students lead us to see each of these claims as being partly true and also partly false.  What strikes us most about those who predict the future, however, is that they only very faintly take account of the voices and experiences of students themselves.

We found that Internet-savvy students are articulate and pragmatic consumers of their educations.  By the time they enter high school, if not before, many understand what is required of them to succeed in school, the importance of good teachers and access to adequate resources, and the need to supplement what they learn in school with outside interests and experiences.  On a daily basis—consciously or not—they make choices about the tradeoff between getting good grades and having the in- and out-of-school learning experiences they want to have. 

• “I think that school does a good job of providing you with a general education, but I think that most of what it does is pretty basic.  I think that if you really want to get a good education, then most of the responsibility is placed on the students – at least this is what I’ve gotten from my school – and it is up to you to go above and beyond what the teacher presents.  You know, you can easily not do the reading in history and get away with it, but you won’t be learning very much….You just have to have the motivation to actually study and want to not just get the A or whatever, but to actually understand the material and be able to apply it.” – High School Girl

These students told us that the Internet helps them.  It saves them time and allows them to manage their busy lives better, seek out new ideas and experiences, and keep connected with friends and family.  They are not afraid of it or in awe of it. They realize that relying on it is not without serious drawbacks at times.  Yet, having grown up with it, they use it, they like it, and they rely on it.

• “Life without the Internet would be odd.  I’ve grown used to using it in school since we got it four years ago.  I almost take it for granted sometimes.  It can make schoolwork easier, but every now and then it will set you back.  Like everything in life, it has its advantages and disadvantages.” – High School Girl

Students usually have strong views about how their school experiences could be made better. Their analysis of how the Internet can be exploited in educational settings illustrates this point perfectly. Here is what they say they would like to see happen:

• Students want better coordination of their out-of-school educational use of the Internet with classroom activities. They argue that this could be the key to leveraging the power of the Internet for learning. We found that the overwhelming majority of student use of the Internet for education happens outside of schools and outside of teacher direction.  While policy makers, researchers, and many journalists focus on teacher-directed in-school use of the Internet as the test of the Internet’s effectiveness for education, students told us they use the Internet for school much more frequently and in a greater variety of ways outside of school at their own initiative. These students would like schools to recognize that the online world is full of resources that would make classroom lessons more compelling and make complex topics easier to understand. Not all subjects are taught equally effectively with Internet resources, but many subjects would be easier to comprehend and more enjoyable to learn if online tools were employed, according to these students.
• Students urge schools to increase significantly the quality of access to the Internet in schools.  Student use of the Internet at school is fraught with constraints and limitations that cripple the potential it has for educational good, these students contend.  Certainly, not every student with whom we spoke attends a school with large numbers of Internet-connected computers.  In fact, nearly all thought it a good idea to have more Internet-connected computers at school.  Even those students who attend highly wired schools describe a school environment that often discouraged their use of the Internet.  They are frustrated by their inability to go online at school. Many believe that these frustrations arose because teachers do not see educational value in providing abundant Internet access, or because of fears about inappropriate material on the Internet.
• Students believe that professional development and technical assistance for teachers are crucial for effective integration of the Internet into curricula.   Students report that many of the Internet-based educational assignments they receive consist of little more than completing digitized worksheets.  While some students offered examples of compelling online assignments that tapped their higher order thinking skills and took advantage of the rich, interactive elements of the Internet, they were far and away the exception.  Most students freely offered up numerous examples of teacher-directed uses of the Internet for school that seemed to have dubious educational value.  In this regard, it is interesting to note that students are uniformly more interested in—and saw more value in—doing schoolwork that challenged and excited them than in simply using the Internet for its own sake.
• Students maintain that schools should place priority on developing programs to teach keyboarding, computer, and Internet literacy skills. Not all students have the skills and knowledge to navigate the Internet effectively.  No matter what conventional wisdom may say, it was abundantly clear from conversations with focus group participants that even students who are frequently online could benefit from instruction and advice about how to use the Internet better.  The students held many misconceptions about such basic things as how to use search engines, how computer viruses are contracted and spread, and how their privacy might be compromised online—just to cite a few examples.  Students with better Internet skills and with greater knowledge of educational Web sites had a significant edge over other students.  These students—and those students in our low-adopter groups—also reported that those who do not use the Internet much are often reluctant to go online because they do not even have basic keyboarding or computer skills (or—in more extreme cases—because they lack the basic reading and writing skills required of the online world).
• Students urge that there be continued effort to ensure that high-quality online information to complete school assignments be freely available, easily accessible, and age-appropriate–without undue limitation on students’ freedoms.  Even students with strong skills say that finding the right information on the Internet can be frustrating and time-consuming.  Most students who spoke with us expressed frustration about finding quality information to help them complete their school assignments.  Here are some of their complaints: Search engines regularly retrieve too many references for common Internet searches.  Authorship of Web sites and timeliness of posted information is often not disclosed; the information on many Web sites can be biased or incomplete; and, the reading level of the best information may exceed the capabilities and comprehension of students.  In addition, visitors to many sites that offer useful information for free are inundated with commercial advertisements, and trusted sources may charge fees for their information. 
• Students insist that policy makers take the “digital divide” seriously and that they begin to understand the more subtle inequities among teenagers that manifest themselves in differences in the quality of student Internet access and use.  The gap between students who do and don’t have access to the Internet at home is a serious matter to these students. In the classroom, it is apparent to Internet-savvy students when a classmate does not have access to the Internet.  Indeed, students with easy Internet access assert that they have a clear and persistent advantage over their peers with little or no access.  Moreover, out of concern for those who do not have easy access to the Internet outside of school, students report that most of their teachers do not assign homework that encourages or requires student use of the Internet.  While these students did not offer novel remedies, they did insist that policy makers and educators recognize the gap and take steps to address it.

Of course, student use of the Internet for school does not occur in a vacuum.  Students’ experiences, and those of their states, districts, schools, teachers, and parents, strongly affect the way the Internet is used for educational purposes.  Indeed, while good schools of today are expected to have significant computer and Internet facilities, they face significant barriers to integrating it into their operations.  Even when cost, technical, training and use, and equity matters have not been at issue, schools have faced legal, policy, and ethical tensions around whether and what type of access minors should have to the Internet.  In such a chilled, or potentially chilled, environment, school leaders, teachers, and resource personnel have had good reason to be cautious about the kind of access they provide to students and about the extent to which they integrate the Internet into their curricula and instructional practices.  The resultant Internet-use policies, filtering technologies, and human misgivings have all made adoption of the Internet challenging for educational institutions, teachers and students. 

Nonetheless, students themselves are changing because of their use of and reliance on the Internet.  They are coming to school with different expectations, different skills, and different resources.  In fact, our most Internet-savvy students told us that their schools, teachers and peers are at times frustratingly illiterate, naïve, and even afraid of the online world.  Indeed, students who rely on the Internet for school—who cannot conceive of not using it for their schoolwork—may ultimately force schools to change to better accommodate them.  According to the students with whom we spoke, many schools have yet to react or even to recognize the changes in the ways that Internet-savvy students communicate and access information.

In the midst of other priorities, schools can choose to view this emerging pressure for change from their student body in either a positive or negative light.  On the positive side, through the growing use of the Internet outside of school, educators have the opportunity to expand their reach and to engage students in new and thoughtful was.  On the negative side, the sanctity and tradition of the four walls of the classroom quite literally is melting away.  Students are likely to be increasingly dissatisfied with conventional approaches to teaching and learning and to the limited resources available to them in all but the best-equipped schools.  In the final analysis, schools would do well to heed the Latin writer Seneca’s words, which ring as true today as when they were written nearly 2,000 years ago: “The fates guide those who go willingly; those who do not, they drag.”

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Digital disconnection, digital inequality, and subjective well-being: a mobile experience sampling study

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Minh Hao Nguyen, Eszter Hargittai, Digital disconnection, digital inequality, and subjective well-being: a mobile experience sampling study, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication , Volume 29, Issue 1, January 2024, zmad044, https://doi.org/10.1093/jcmc/zmad044

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Drawing on theories of digital media (non-)use and well-being, this study examines how voluntary disconnection relates to subjective well-being and what role digital skills play in this relationship. We rely on mobile experience sampling methods to link nuanced disconnection practices throughout the day (e.g., putting screen devices away and muting notifications) with momentary experiences of well-being. We collected 4,028 responses from 105 mobile media users over the course of one week. Multilevel regression analyses revealed neither significant within-person effects of disconnection on affective well-being, social connectedness, or life satisfaction, nor a significant moderation effect of digital skills. Exploratory analyses, however, show that effects of disconnection on well-being vary greatly across participants, and that effects are dependent on whether one disconnects in the physical copresence of others. Our study offers a refined perspective on the consequences, or lack thereof, of deliberate non-use of technology in the digital age.

This study looked at whether taking breaks from digital media throughout the day has an impact on people’s own perceptions of their well-being. Over the course of one week, the researchers asked 105 participants to answer six questionnaires each day through a mobile application, which resulted in 4,028 filled-out questionnaires. The results show that, on average, taking a break from digital media does not affect how people feel (positively or negatively), or how socially connected they feel immediately after their disconnection. It also does not affect how satisfied they are with their life considering the past day. However, upon further analysis, the results show that people’s reactions to breaks from technology vary greatly. Some people experience no or negative effects of disconnection on their well-being, while others experience positive effects. The study also finds that when people take a break from digital media while being with others, this has short-term positive effects on their well-being. With this, the study shows a nuanced picture of the benefits—or lack of these—of what taking breaks from digital media can do for people’s well-being.

In today’s “permanently online, permanently connected” world ( Vorderer et al., 2017 ), people increasingly make purposeful efforts to disconnect, such as by limiting their connectivity or time spent on digital media ( Nguyen et al., 2022 ). For instance, individuals might take “digital detoxes” and use tech-based solutions such as apps and device features to unplug ( Nguyen, 2021 ). Societal norms toward disconnection might also develop, as social groups and organizations implement guidelines and policies around digital media use ( Vanden Abeele & Nguyen, 2023 ). Research reveals that well-being and health considerations are one of the central reasons why people decide to place limits on their digital media use or to “disconnect” ( Jorge, 2019 ; Nguyen, 2023 ). Yet, in current scholarship on digital media use and its impact on subjective well-being, the role of everyday digital media practices that are geared toward limiting connectivity remains understudied. Exceptions to this are intervention studies where people are asked to take breaks from social media or mobile devices, but these do not reflect people’s everyday lived experiences (e.g., Hall et al., 2021 ; for a systematic review, see Radtke et al., 2021 ). As such, research has not yet been able to address to what extent disconnection is able to restore people’s sense of well-being, which is perceived to be threatened by digital media use ( Nguyen, 2023 ). Note that ample research has been conducted on the relationship between digital media use and subjective well-being, finding mostly none to small effects (for a review, see Meier & Reinecke, 2020 ; for a discussion, see Orben, 2020 ), but individual perceptions that digital media affects well-being negatively still remain (e.g., Comparis, 2018 ; Kantar, 2018 ). Since well-being considerations are one of the key motivations to disconnect ( Nguyen, 2023 ), it is important to examine if disconnection—that is, deliberately limiting the use of digital media—is an effective strategy to restore such perceptions of reduced well-being.

Another important question is to what extent digital inequalities shape the relationship between digital disconnection and subjective well-being. In recent years, scholars have voiced concerns about how digital inequalities may extend to the realm of digital disconnection, putting forward the notion that some might be better able to manage the abundant digital information and communication environment than others (e.g., Gui & Büchi, 2021 ; Hargittai & Micheli, 2019 ; Nguyen, 2021 ; Nguyen & Hargittai, 2023 ). In a world where connection is the default, disconnection may be reserved for the more digitally and socioeconomically privileged, who are able to “afford” going offline ( Beattie & Cassidy, 2020 ; Büchi et al., 2019 ). With many disconnective features being built into device and app interfaces (e.g., Apple Screen Time, “Focus” mode), it is likely that these will be more accessible to those who are digitally skilled enough to utilize them ( Nguyen, 2021 ). Overall, digital inequality research has shown that more skilled digital media users are more likely to experience benefits from their digital media uses, for instance, in terms of increased social capital or well-being ( Hofer et al., 2019 ; Nguyen et al., 2020 ). As such, an important question is whether and how digital skills play a moderating role in the relationship between everyday digital disconnection practices and subjective well-being.

In this preregistered study, we examine the implications of people’s everyday disconnection practices for their sense of well-being (i.e., affective, social, and cognitive well-being), and how digital skills play a role in this. We aim to explore people’s broader digital media repertoire instead of only focusing on specific devices or platforms, as digital media use and henceforth disconnection likely does not happen in an isolated context (e.g., Nguyen et al., 2021 ). Regarding digital disconnection, we aim to capture the everyday practices in which people engage while maintaining connectivity—but without going completely offline for longer periods of time, such as in the case of digital detoxes where users take longer breaks (e.g., weeks and months) from mobile or social media ( Baym et al., 2020 ; Franks et al., 2018 ; Radtke et al., 2021 ). To capture these everyday disconnection practices in their natural setting—as opposed to intervention studies that “force” participants to disconnect—this study employs an experience sampling method (ESM) design where digital media users are surveyed six times throughout the day over the course of a week to capture their possible disconnection practices as they occur naturally. The unique advantage of ESM in the context of this study is that it can capture (a) the nuanced disconnection practices in which people engage throughout the day (e.g., putting the phone with the screen down for several minutes; making a mental note not to visit certain apps or websites) and (b) the momentary, likely short-lived, effects of such nuanced disconnection practices on subjective well-being.

Theorizing the relationship between disconnection and subjective well-being

Digital media play an essential role in organizing everyday life, maintaining social relationships, and fulfilling leisure time, and as such may be important for nourishing affective, cognitive, and social well-being outcomes ( Meier & Reinecke, 2020 ). It is not surprising that decades of research have been concerned with the question of how digital media use affects people’s subjective well-being (for a review, see Meier & Reinecke, 2020 ). With respect to the impact of digital disconnection on various dimensions of subjective well-being, there are several hypotheses to consider. As a starting point, we first discuss existing theories about the relationship between digital media use and well-being, and then elaborate on what this would mean for potential effects of disconnection on different well-being outcomes. In this study, we define digital disconnection as nuanced acts of deliberately limiting one’s digital media use (e.g., putting devices away, making mental notes not to look at devices, turning off notifications or the internet). Overall, it is important to note that digital disconnection and its potential consequences for well-being might differ depending on geographic and cultural context ( Bozan & Treré, 2023 ; Treré, 2021 ). Much of the disconnection literature so far (for a review, see Nassen et al., 2023) , as this study, has been focused on Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic countries ( Henrich et al., 2010 ), where dis/connectivity for many is likely a choice rather than a necessity (also see the Discussion and Conclusion section).

On the one hand, scholarship has theorized digital media use to have a positive effect on well-being. For instance, digital media such as smartphones can help young people develop a sense of autonomy ( Schnauber-Stockmann et al., 2021 ) and can support older adults in living an autonomous life ( Abascal & Civit, 2000 ), which are fundamental human needs that contribute to overall well-being ( Ryan & Deci, 2001 ). With respect to digital communication, researchers have suggested that both the quantity and quality of human communication can be improved through use of technology, which in turn contributes to greater social connection and overall well-being ( Dienlin et al., 2017 ; Valkenburg & Peter, 2007 ). If we think of digital media use, that is, connection, as having positive effects on subjective well-being, then one hypothesis could be that disconnection interferes with this relationship and thus negatively impacts well-being.

On the other hand, digital media use may also have negative consequences for subjective well-being. For instance, a well-known hypothesis is that of “displacement” ( Dienlin et al., 2017 ; Kraut et al., 1998 ; Valkenburg & Peter, 2007 ), whereby time spent on digital media detracts from time that could be spent on other potentially more meaningful activities, including in-person social ones. For instance, in the case of problematic social media use—when people feel a loss of control over their social media use or experience “overconnection”—research has shown that it can lead to increased loneliness ( Marttila et al., 2021 ) and is thus detrimental to one’s well-being. Digital media have also been experienced as distracting, leading to unwanted effects such as procrastination ( Hinsch & Sheldon, 2013 ; Meier, 2021 ). Disconnection, then, could be a solution to such perceived negative effects and allow people to spend their free time on other activities that are perceived to be more meaningful, all the while regaining a sense of control over their digital media use ( Aranda & Baig, 2018 ; Franks et al., 2018 ; Nguyen, 2021 ).

So far, in theorizing the relationship between digital disconnection and subjective well-being, we have given examples in which we think of disconnection as the reverse of connection, and likewise the effects it may have on subjective well-being. While this might seem logical and straightforward, we argue that effects of digital disconnection on well-being are not necessarily the opposite of those of digital media use. Unlike digital media use, which is often described as automatic, habitual ( Bayer et al., 2022 ; Giannakos et al., 2013 ; Wohn, 2012 ) and perhaps even as mindless ( Baym et al., 2020 ; Schellewald, 2021 ), when it comes to disconnection practices, people engage in them more consciously and in a goal-oriented manner ( Aranda & Baig, 2018 ; Franks et al., 2018 ; Nguyen, 2021 ). Through disconnecting, people often hope to achieve something specific, such as being more present in offline activities, not being distracted when wanting to concentrate on an activity, or escaping the social pressure to be online ( Nguyen, 2023 ). These observations are in line with Communication Bond Belong theory, which posits that the motivation to engage in social interactions decreases when the need to belong is fulfilled, and vice versa, because social interactions come at the expense of social energy, which people need to preserve ( Hall & Davis, 2017 ). Recently, scholars have linked this theory to the concept of digital solitude ( Campbell & Ross, 2022 ), suggesting that when people actively decide to disconnect, this can help them regain their social energy ( Ross et al., 2023 ). From the various points of view discussed, it would make sense to expect that, overall, people’s disconnection practices have a positive impact on well-being in general. Nonetheless, it is important to note that digital media use itself (rather than disconnection) can also be practiced as a moment of digital solitude, for instance when someone uses social media by oneself for a moment of relaxation or to cope with offline stress ( Keessen, 2023 ; Wolfers & Utz, 2022 ), and so the relationship of disconnection to well-being may not be that straightforward.

What does existing empirical scholarship on digital disconnection have to say about its effects on subjective well-being? Research on the relationship between disconnection and subjective well-being has so far mostly been of experimental nature, where participants are instructed to abstain from social media or their smartphones for a certain time period. Overall, the results of such studies are mixed: Some find positive effects on affective, cognitive, and social well-being outcomes, while others find no such effects, or even negative ones (for a systematic review, see Radtke et al., 2021 ). In one of the most comprehensive studies to date, Hall et al. (2021) randomly assigned participants to one of five experimental conditions in which they were either asked to make no changes to their social media use or take a break from social media ranging from 1 to 4 weeks. Relying on daily diary assessments, the authors found no effect of abstention nor the duration of abstinence on affective, social, or cognitive dimensions of subjective well-being.

Aside from intervention studies, there is also research that relies on participants’ recall of their disconnection experiences. For instance, in a study where researchers collected open survey responses, Facebook users reported that after a time of deactivation, they returned to be more mindful users of the platform ( Baym et al., 2020 ). Cross-sectional survey research has shown that intended unavailability to communicate with others (either in person or digitally) can increase overall well-being, but only for users who are more digitally connected than others ( Ross et al., 2023 ). An interview study found that taking breaks from social media could benefit people’s sense of health and well-being, although this was not the case for all interviewed participants ( Nguyen, 2021 ). On the whole, while experimental studies show mixed effects of forced disconnection from social media/mobile phones on subjective well-being (e.g., Radtke et al., 2021 ), interview studies that ask about voluntary disconnection experiences in retrospect report overall benefits for perceived well-being ( Aranda & Baig, 2018 ; Baym et al., 2020 ; Franks et al., 2018 ; Nguyen et al., 2020 ). This leaves the question of whether method of analysis may influence how disconnection and well-being are linked.

Observational studies that focus on the effects of disconnection strategies implemented in day-to-day life on subjective well-being (unlike forced “detoxes” where people opt out of social media for a certain time period due to researcher prompting) are less present in the literature. Yet, such everyday disconnection practices are quite common and, as such, are ripe for investigation. For instance, research from Switzerland indicates that two-thirds of digital media users engage in at least one strategy to disconnect (e.g., turning off notifications, using do-not-disturb-functions, or putting digital devices away), with health and well-being among the most prominent reasons listed for doing so ( Nguyen et al., 2022 ). In an Austrian study of people ages 18–35, almost half used screen time apps on their smartphone ( Schmuck, 2020 ). Moreover, among people who do not use screen time apps, social network site use was positively associated with problematic smartphone use, and consequently, lower subjective well-being, while there was no such link among screen time app users ( Schmuck, 2020 ). As such, it could be that engaging in efforts to regulate one’s media use can mitigate potential negative effects of digital media use on subjective well-being. While these studies are helpful as a first step, more research is needed to deepen our understanding of the possible effectiveness of everyday disconnection practices for subjective well-being.

Momentary effects of disconnection on subjective well-being

Given that people often engage in disconnection practices consciously and with a specific goal in mind (e.g., being more present in offline activities; Aranda & Baig, 2018 ; Franks et al., 2018 ; Nguyen, 2021 ), we expect that the effects on affective and cognitive well-being overall will be positive. However, when it comes to social well-being, existing empirical work seems to suggest that in the short-term, disconnection can lead to diminished feelings of connectedness. Nguyen (2021) found this to be the case in an interview study with 30 adults who had taken a break from social media at least once. People’s overall, long-term reflections were positive and reflected increased well-being, whereas short-term, they had reported negative effects on social well-being, such as fear of missing out and restlessness when they decided to deactivate Facebook or put their mobile phone away ( Nguyen, 2021 ).

When comparing experimental studies in which people were asked to disconnect from social media, a one-week intervention yielded an increase in social connectedness ( Brown & Kuss, 2020 ), while another study with a shorter two-day intervention led to lower connectedness ( Sheldon et al., 2011 ), although the latter finding likely does not reflect momentary effects. A comprehensive study which compared different lengths of social media breaks (ranging from 0 to 4 weeks) found no effects of the duration of abstinence on loneliness ( Hall et al., 2021 ). Research using the ESM to examine communication between close ties (e.g., couples) has shown that connected availability—the perception that a partner is continuously available digitally—benefits subjective well-being ( Taylor & Bazarova, 2021 ). Theoretically, disconnection then could be detrimental to feelings of social connectedness—at least in the short term, as it interferes with this state of “connected presence” ( Christensen, 2009 ; Licoppe, 2004 ) to others at all times. In the context of in-person social interactions, however, phubbing—interrupting a social situation through smartphone use—can lead to detrimental well-being ( Nuñez & Radtke, 2023 ). Disconnection, then, could increase especially perceived social well-being. As an observational study showed, people experienced more intimate conversations when smartphones were used less ( Vanden Abeele et al., 2019 ).

H1: Everyday disconnection practices are related to higher perceived affective well-being. H2: Everyday disconnection practices are related to higher perceived cognitive well-being. H3: Everyday disconnection practices are related to lower perceived social well-being.

Digital inequalities in disconnection: the role of digital skills

Scholars have suggested that socio-digital inequalities exist around people’s disconnection practices and have highlighted the importance of digital skills—that is, the ability to use technology effectively and efficiently ( Hargittai & Hsieh, 2012 )—in managing the abundant information and communication that people are exposed to through digital media ( Gui et al., 2017 ; Hargittai et al., 2012 ; Hargittai & Micheli, 2019 ). A survey of American internet users revealed that people with greater digital skills were more likely to use strategies to limit their digital media use during the COVID-19 pandemic ( Nguyen & Hargittai, 2023 ). Qualitative interview studies have also reported that digital skills are important for being able to use features of technology to limit connectivity ( Nguyen, 2021 ; Nguyen et al., 2021 ). Examples of such strategies include the use of screen time apps to track and set limits to one’s digital media use, as well as the use of app and device settings to manage one’s online availability or exposure to online information and communication. Overall, since evidence of an association between digital skills and disconnection behaviors is still scarce, a first question that we will explore in this article is whether people’s digital skills predict the extent to which they engage in nuanced disconnection practices throughout the day.

RQ1: Do digital skills predict people’s engagement in disconnection practices? 2 RQ2: Do digital skills moderate the relationships between digital disconnection and (a) affective, (b) cognitive, and (c) social well-being?

In this preregistered study, we use ESM (for more information about this method, see Myin-Germeys & Kuppens, 2022 ) to examine the effects of everyday disconnection practices on three different dimensions of subjective well-being: affective, cognitive, and social. We also examine how these relationships are dependent on people’s digital skills. ESM is an appropriate method to examine the occurrence of everyday disconnection practices that happen throughout the day, as well as the immediate, momentary, short-lived effects that it may have on subjective well-being. The hypotheses, research questions, design, and analytical plan were preregistered ( https://osf.io/6kw9c ).

Design and sampling plan

We recruited Dutch participants 18 years and older through a market research company in March and April 2022. We aimed for a somewhat equal distribution of gender, age, and education levels, which the research company took into account in sending out invitations. Prospective participants received an invitation e-mail from the research company with the study information letter and a link to the informed consent form and intake questionnaire. In the study information letter, we explained the study procedure and that people needed to possess an Android smartphone and install the mobile experience sampling app (movisensXS) to participate. On day 1, participants received an intake questionnaire to measure sociodemographics and general digital media use. Through this intake survey, participants also received step-by-step instructions to install the movisensXS app. We also gaveinstructions to change device settings to receive questionnaire notifications from the app, even in “do-not-disturb” mode (this is a default option of the app, which is needed so that it can function properly).

On days 2–8 (i.e., 7 consecutive days), participants received six questionnaires each day through movisensXS at semi-random time intervals between 8:30 am and 9:00 pm (see exact sampling schedule in preregistration). Given that our questions (see “Daily ESM Questionnaire”) asked about the preceding 2-hr time window for several questions, we ensured that all questionnaire prompts were at least 2   hr apart to avoid overlap in the 2-hr time windows. In total, participants received 42 questionnaires through the app. For most participants (99 out of 105) we needed to extend the ESM part of the study (by 1   day n  =   64; 2   days n  =   12; 3   days n  =   10; 4   days n  =   6; 5   days n  =   5; 6   days n  =   2), either because they had missed questionnaires on the first days due to unforeseen technical issues or because of personal reasons such as illness (see under the Analyses section that the day of measurement did not influence the results). For those willing to continue their participation in the study in spite of this, we sampled until they filled out at least 33 questionnaires (which was one of our inclusion criteria in the preregistration based on power calculations). On the 9th day, participants received a final outtake questionnaire (these data are not part of this article). Participants received a financial compensation of 25 Euros upon completion of the study if they filled out the intake and final questionnaire, and if they filled out at least 80% of the ESM questionnaires (i.e., a minimum of 33), with at least one each day.

Participants were instructed to fill out the questionnaire as soon as possible after receiving a notification, but it stayed available for 30   min after the first prompt. Alternatively, participants could delay the notification up until 25   min later, or they could skip the questionnaire. Participants received four reminder notifications if they had not filled out the questionnaire in those 30   min. Given this study’s focus on disconnection practices, it is important to note that the mobile experience app also worked offline (i.e., when there was no internet connection). The app would then upload the results to the server once the participant again had an active internet connection.

The irony of using mobile media to study disconnection practices is not lost on the authors. We nonetheless believe that this is still an appropriate method to study this behavior, as we do not expect to include participants who disconnect from their phone for longer periods of time (i.e., days, weeks). Instead, we focus on the brief, nuanced disconnection practices that active digital media users engage in throughout the day. Extended disconnection is quite rare, and likely limited to a select group of people who are extremely serious about disconnecting ( Nguyen, 2021 ).

Participants

In total, 151 people signed through the experience sampling app, of which n  =   14 never filled out any questionnaires, and n  =   32 ended their participation early. Our final sample consisted of 105 participants, of which two-thirds were female (68.6%). The average age of participants was 40.10   years ( SD  =   13.10) and ranged from 19 to 75   years. The sample included both lower educated (50.5%) and higher educated participants who had earned at least a Bachelor’s degree (49.5%).

In total, we sent 5055 ESM questionnaires to our 105 participants, of which they filled out 4028 (79.7%). On average, participants completed 38.4 ESM questionnaires (range 32–42). Note that we had an inclusion criterion of filling out at least 33 ESM questionnaires to be included in the final sample of our study (for more detailed information on the rationale behind this decision, see our preregistration). However, as two participants started, but did not finish the 33rd questionnaire, we ended up including all participants who completed 32 questionnaires.

Baseline questionnaire

Sociodemographics.

We measured age by asking for people’s birth year and subtracting that from 2022. We asked about gender (female, male, other), which we recoded into a female category (vs. other). We measured education level through nine categories, ranging from no formal education to having obtained an academic degree, which we recoded into a dichotomous variable reflecting higher education level (i.e., university versus all lower education categories).

General digital media use

We asked about people’s use of the internet and their smartphones separately, distinguishing between weekdays and the weekend, which resulted in four items. The question was: “On an average [weekday/Saturday or Sunday], how often do you use [the internet, either on a computer, tablet, or smartphone/your smartphone]?”. We calculated the average use per day by taking the sum of the weekday answer * 5   days and the weekend answer * 2   days, and dividing this by 7   days, resulting in two variables separately reflecting average internet use and smartphone use per day. On average, participants used the internet for 4.20   hr per day ( SD  =   1.43), and their smartphone for 3.35   hr per day ( SD  =   1.61).

Digital skills

For digital skills, we used an established and validated index to measure people’s know-how about the internet and social media ( Hargittai, 2020 ; Hargittai & Hsieh, 2012 ). This self-reported index has partly been validated against people’s actual performance of skills ( Hargittai, 2005 ). Respondents reported their understanding of 12 internet and social media-related items on a 1–5 point scale ranging from no understanding to full understanding (e.g., “PDF,” “cache,” “followers,” “tagging”). We took the average of the items as the digital skills score (Cronbach’s α  =   0.87). The average level of digital skills was relatively high, but people with lower levels of skills were also represented in the sample ( M  =   3.88, SD  =   0.78, range 1–5).

Daily ESM questionnaire

Disconnection.

We pretested the question and answer options for measuring disconnection ( n  =   9) for clarity, comprehensibility, and completeness during a pilot of the study procedure and made several adjustments before finalizing the version presented here. To measure disconnection practices in everyday life, we asked people: “In the past two hours, have you done any of the following deliberately to take a break from digital media? Check all that apply.” We communicated to participants that digital media entailed “devices that grant access to the internet, such as a smartphone, laptop/computer, or tablet.” The nine answer options were: (a) put my mobile phone or other digital media away; (b) put my mobile phone or other digital media with the screen facing down; (c) told myself not to look at my mobile phone or other digital media; (d) told myself not to look at certain websites or apps (for instance, email, news, and social media); (e) closed programs, apps, and websites (for instance, email, news, and social media); f) turned off notifications (for instance from email, news, and social media); (g) turned off the internet (for instance, flight mode, “do-not-disturb” function); (h) took a break from digital media in another way; and (i) limited digital media use without any special approach. At the end of the list, we included a 10th option for people to report that they had not disconnected in the past 2   hr: “I have NOT taken a break from digital media in the past two hours.”

Confirmatory factor analyses (using the R package lavaan ; Rosseel et al., 2023 ) relying on tetrachoric correlations suitable for dichotomous variables showed an acceptable model fit ( χ 2 (27, N  =   3972) =   308.92, P  <   .001, CFI   =   0.800, RMSEA   =   0.051; Hooper et al., 2008 ), justifying our decision to combine the nine items for measuring disconnection into one index. Thus, for our analyses, we created a dichotomous variable reflecting whether people had disconnected in the past 2   hr (versus not). If people indicated that they had used one of the disconnection strategies while simultaneously reporting that they had not disconnected in the past two hours, we recoded their responses as missing since those answers are logically misaligned.

If people had indicated that they had disconnected, we also collected data on whom they were with when they disconnected. Answer options were: alone, partner, child(ren), other family, friend(s), colleague(s), and other; people could select multiple answer options. For the analyses, we created a dichotomous variable for each type of social tie. We also created another dichotomous variable to reflect whether people had disconnected in the copresence of other(s) (1) versus while alone (0).

Subjective well-being

We focused on three dimensions of subjective well-being, namely affective, cognitive, and social well-being. We measured affective and social well-being at every occasion, that is, six times per day. Given that we expected less variability during the day in cognitive well-being than other dimensions of subjective well-being ( de Vries et al., 2021 ), we asked this only once: in the last questionnaire of each day. We used one-item measures for these constructs, which is common in experience sampling research to lower participant burden.

We conceptualized affective well-being as people’s experience of negative and positive emotions or mood. To capture affective well-being, we asked: “How do you feel at this moment?”, with answer options ranging from 1 “Very negative” to 7 “Very positive” ( de Vries et al., 2021 ). We conceptualized cognitive well-being as one’s general satisfaction with life, and asked: “When you look at the past day, how satisfied are you with your life at this moment?” Participants could answer on a slider ranging from 1 “Very unsatisfied” to 100 “Very satisfied” ( de Vries et al., 2021 ). We used a slider with a larger range, as this has been shown to be a reliable and valid method to assess constructs related to overall quality of life, such as life satisfaction ( Benrud-Larson et al., 2005 ; de Boer et al., 2004 ). Finally, we conceptualized social well-being as people’s sense of social connectedness, where we asked: “How socially connected do you feel at this moment?,” with answer options ranging from 1 “Not at all” to 7 “Very much” ( Arjmand et al., 2021 ).

We first conducted exploratory analyses to look into the prevalence of disconnection practices across our sample, as well as how sociodemographics, digital experiences, and digital skills (RQ1) related to disconnection practices. Here, we used mixed effects logistic regression to model binary outcome variables, with a random intercept varying by participant. The outcome variables were disconnection behavior in the past two hours (yes/no), and whom they were with when they disconnected (dichotomous variable for each type of social company: alone, partner, child(ren), other family, friend(s), colleague(s), and other).

Next, we tested the hypotheses with multilevel linear regression modeling to account for the nested structure of the data. We estimated two-level models in which repeated measurements of digital disconnection (level 1) are nested within individuals (level 2). To test H1, H2, and H3, we estimated separate models for each dependent variable (affective, cognitive, and social well-being). For affective and social well-being as outcomes, which were measured at six times daily, we estimated a fixed-effects model with disconnection as predictor. For cognitive well-being, which was measured once per day, we estimated a fixed-effects model with the sum score of total disconnection during the day as predictor. We conducted additional exploratory analyses to examine if the within-person effects of digital disconnection on subjective well-being (H1–H3) differ across individuals. To do so, we extended each model with a random slope and tested if the model fit improved when doing so.

To answer RQ2, we extended each of the aforementioned models with an interaction term between digital skills and disconnection. We also conducted all analyses with age, gender, education level, and general digital media use as control variables. Since these were not significant, we report the analyses without them. We also considered the measurement day type (weekday versus weekend) and whether it was the 1st–6th questionnaire of the day, but given that these showed no effect on the dependent variables, we excluded them from further analyses. The time-level variables (level 1) were person-mean centered as we are interested in the within-subject effects. The individual-level variables of digital skills and general media use (level 2) were grand-mean centered. All analyses were conducted in R, using package lme4 ( Bates et al., 2022 ) and lmerTest ( Kuznetsova et al., 2020 ).

Disconnection practices (exploratory analyses and RQ1)

Table 1 displays the prevalence of disconnection practices. In 39.5% ( n  =   1,567) of completed ESM questionnaires, participants indicated that they had used at least one of the listed disconnection strategies in the preceding two hours. Recall that the question asked whether participants had engaged in these actions “deliberately to take a break from digital media.” The most commonly used strategies were “Put my mobile phone or other digital media away” (23.4%, n  =   928), “Put my mobile phone or other digital media with the screen facing down” (7.4%, n  =   295), and “Limited digital media use without any special approach” (7.6%, n  =   303). Participants, when they had disconnected, used on average 1.36 strategies ( SD  =   0.77) with a range of 1–8 strategies. Specifically, in 75.4% ( n  =   1,182) of filled-out ESM questionnaires where people said they had disconnected, only one strategy was used, followed by 17.5% ( n  =   274) with two strategies, and 4.9% ( n  =   76) with three strategies.

Prevalence of disconnection practices during 7-day ESM period

Note : Data from 105 participants with 3,972 valid responses to the question about disconnection.

Next, we looked into the role of sociodemographics and digital skills in disconnection behavior, and the social context of disconnecting ( Table 2 ). Mixed-effects logistic regression analysis revealed that gender, age, and education level did not relate to disconnection behavior over the course of one week. Digital skills (RQ1) were also not related to people’s engagement in disconnection practices throughout the day. When looking into the social context in which people disconnected, we found significant age and gender patterns. Specifically, older age was related to greater odds of disconnecting around one’s partner. We found no significant relationships between sociodemographics and disconnecting around children. On the other hand, older age was related to lower odds of disconnecting around other family members (besides one’s partner and children), friends, and colleagues—suggesting that younger people are more likely to do so in these social contexts. Female participants also had lower odds of disconnecting while being with friends, as compared to male participants.

Sociodemographics, digital skills, and disconnection

Notes: N  =   105 participants. Analyses for the role of social context were done in a subsample of events in which people disconnected. B = unstandardized coefficient, OR = odds ratio; CI = OR confidence interval; ICC = intraclass correlation coefficient.

P  <   .05,

P  <   .01,

P  <   .001.

Disconnection practices and subjective well-being (H1–H3)

The results of the multilevel linear regression models examining the relationship between disconnection and well-being are detailed in Tables 3 – 5 . We first estimated intercept-only models, where we find intra-class correlations (ICC) of r  =   0.39 for affective well-being, r  =   0.48 for life satisfaction, and r  =   0.41 for social connectedness. In general, the larger the ICC, the lower the variability within a person (and thus momentary assessments become irrelevant), and the higher the variability between the persons. In this case, our ICCs mean that over half of the variability in the outcome variables is due to momentary fluctuations within persons. As such, by using multilevel models, we can better model the variation in the outcome variables by allowing for individual differences in comparison to a model that does not take into account the multilevel structure of the data. Next, we included disconnection behavior as a predictor in the models to test the hypotheses ( Tables 3 – 5 , Model 1). Here, we found no significant effects of disconnection behavior on affective well-being, life satisfaction, or social connectedness. Thus, when a participant disconnected more or less often than they would do on average, this did not change their level of subjective well-being. As such, our hypotheses are rejected.

Disconnection and affective well-being

Note : B = unstandardized coefficient, β = standardized coefficient, CI = confidence interval; σ 2 = variance, ICC = intraclass correlation coefficient.

Disconnection and social connectedness

Note . B = unstandardized coefficient, β = standardized coefficient, CI = confidence interval; σ 2 = variance, ICC = intraclass correlation coefficient.

Disconnection and life satisfaction

p  <   .05,

p  <   .001.

Additionally, we ran exploratory models with disconnection as a dichotomous variable (i.e., in its uncentered form). This allowed us to test whether a situation in which someone disconnected (yes/no)—rather than whether someone disconnected more on less than they normally would have—led to a change in their well-being. Here, we also find no significant effects of disconnection behavior on well-being outcomes. Finally, we also explored the possibility that there could be lagged effects of disconnection at one time point, and subjective well-being at the next time point (only for affective well-being and social connectedness, as life satisfaction was only assessed at the end of the day). These results also did not yield additional insights.

Individual differences in the disconnection—subjective-well-being relationship (exploratory analyses)

Inspired by previous work in the domain of social media use and well-being ( Valkenburg et al., 2021 ), we conducted exploratory analyses in which we accounted for random slopes to examine whether there are between-person differences in the within-person relationship on disconnection practices and subjective well-being. Extending the models for H1–H3 with random slopes ( Tables 3 – 5 , Model 3) significantly improved the model fit for predictions of affective well-being ( X 2 (2) =   17.97, P  <   .001) and social connectedness ( X 2 (2) =   44.91, P  <   .001), but not for life satisfaction ( X 2 (2) =   2.84, P  =   .242). Figure 1 displays the random effects for the relationship between disconnection and (a) affective well-being and (b) social connectedness. For the relationship between disconnection and affective well-being ( Figure 1a ), β ranged from –.18 (negative) through .18 (positive), with 11 participants (10.5%) experiencing effects of β = –.05 and lower, 73 people (69.5%) between β = –.05 and .05, and 21 participants (20.0%) of β = .05 and higher. For the relationship between disconnection and social connectedness ( Figure 1b ) β ranged from –0.40 (negative) through 0.29 (positive), with 32 participants (30.5%) experiencing effects of β  =  –.05 and lower, 57 people (54.3%) between β = –0.05 and .05, and 16 participants (15.2%) of β = .05 and higher. Although the effects are small, our analyses reveal that the within-person relationship between disconnection and affective well-being, as well as disconnection and social connectedness, differs across people.

Random effects (slopes) of disconnection practices on subjective well-being. (a) Affective well-being. (b) Social connectedness.

The moderating role of digital skills (RQ2)

To examine the possible moderating effect of digital skills on the relationship between disconnection and subjective well-being, we added a cross-level interaction term to the fixed-effects regression models ( Tables 3 – 5 , Model 2). We found no significant moderation effects, meaning that the within-person relationship between disconnection and subjective well-being did not vary depending on people’s level of digital skills. As exploratory analyses ( Tables 3 – 5 , Model 4), we also ran models with cross-level interaction effects between disconnection and digital skills to examine if the varying slopes in the random-effects model (i.e., differences in effects of disconnection on well-being across people) could be explained by their different levels of digital skills. These analyses did not yield additional insights.

The role of social context of disconnection (exploratory analyses)

Finally, we also explored the role of the social context in which people are disconnecting ( Tables 3 – 5 , Model 5). One reason for disconnection might be the copresence of others and therefore an immediate desire to disconnect from technology. For these analyses, we focused on the subset of observations in which disconnection took place and used a dichotomous variable reflecting the physical copresence of others during a disconnection attempt (1 versus 0 being alone; see “Daily ESM Questionnaires” in the Methods section). Similar to H1–H3, we ran multilevel linear regression models examining the relationship between disconnection in the physical copresence of others (predictor) and subjective well-being (outcome). The analyses revealed significant main effects indicating that when people disconnected while around others, their affective well-being, social connectedness, and life satisfaction momentarily improved.

This preregistered study aimed to examine the effects of everyday disconnection practices on people’s affective, cognitive, and social well-being, as well as the role of digital skills in this relationship. By employing mobile ESM, we were able to capture people’s nuanced disconnection practices throughout the day (e.g., putting the phone away or with the screen down; deciding not to use certain apps or websites), as well as give insight into the momentary, short-lived effects of such deliberate non-use on subjective well-being. By applying this methodological approach to addressing this relationship, our work offers a refined and nuanced perspective on the implications, or lack thereof, of deliberate non-use of technology in a digital world. With our work, we contribute to the currently small, but rapidly growing, body of literature on digital disconnection and well-being.

While well-being considerations are often central to people’s decision to disconnect ( Franks et al., 2018 ; Nguyen et al., 2022 ), our study found no within-person relationship between people’s disconnection behaviors and subjective well-being outcomes overall. Our findings align with intervention (i.e., experimental) research that finds mixed effects of digital disconnection (in particular mobile phone and social media) on subjective well-being outcomes ( Radtke et al., 2021 ). It also aligns with broader research on media use and subjective well-being, showing that effects of digital media use remain ambiguous. In the most comprehensive review on digital media use and well-being to date, Meier and Reinecke (2020) have disentangled the relationships between digital media use and well-being by distinguishing between different levels of analysis of digital communication channels and types of well-being indicators. Overall, scholarship on digital disconnection, digital media use, and subjective well-being so far suggests that the non-use and use of digital media can have both positive and negative associations with well-being, that the associations—if any—are often small in size, and that associations are dependent on the specific outcomes investigated, as well as on moderators and mediators ( Meier & Reinecke, 2020 ). Our work shows that momentary deliberate disconnective acts—at least in the short-term—have no clear positive or negative effects on subjective well-being outcomes.

One possible explanation for the lack of effects is that the nuanced disconnection practices examined in this study (e.g., putting digital devices with their screen down, telling oneself not to look on certain websites and apps) are not impactful enough to bring about change in one’s subjective well-being throughout the day. Furthermore, in our study we treated any disconnection in the past two hours as a dichotomous variable, and unfortunately, we have no insight into the length of people's disconnection attempts (i.e., was it a matter of minutes or a full hour?). It could be, nonetheless, that increased engagement in these practices over time has beneficial effects on one’s sense of well-being. This would align with qualitative research where in-depth interviews reveal that people’s retrospective, global experiences of digital connection are positive and considered to be beneficial to people’s well-being ( Franks et al., 2018 ; Nguyen, 2021 ). Alternatively, it may be that a period of a week was not long enough to detect any changes in subjective well-being. While our power calculations—as outlined in our preregistration—demonstrate that we should have enough measurements over the course of seven days to detect small effects, it could be worthwhile to examine these within-person relationships over extended periods of time, for instance using measurement burst designs ( Hofer, 2020 ).

Our exploratory analyses showed that people vary vastly in the effects that disconnection has on their subjective well-being, ranging from negative to positive. Therefore, a second explanation for the lack of main effects is that this individual variation evens out the main effects. An important follow-up question for future research is what individual factors explain who experiences benefits from disconnecting and who experiences drawbacks from doing so. It could be that the impact of disconnection practices on subjective well-being outcomes is linked to one’s motivations to disconnect. In-depth interviews with people who had taken an extended break from social media revealed that there were different motivations for doing so, and that if people had not been bothered by the impact of digital media use on their well-being to begin with, they also did not feel that their well-being improved after disconnecting ( Nguyen, 2021 ). Related to people’s motivations to disconnect, this study did not consider in what activity people engaged while they were disconnected. As reasons for disconnection can be diverse, one can imagine that some activities undertaken while disconnected could be draining (e.g., working, studying) and thus detrimental for well-being, while others could be relaxing and beneficial (e.g., reading a book, exercising, and spending time with friends). There are also numerous other reasons for disconnecting such as disinterest, privacy concerns, political activism, and health considerations (e.g., Baumer et al., 2013 ; Hesselberth, 2018 ; Nguyen et al., 2021 ; Nguyen, 2023 ). Furthermore, it is important to consider that momentary digital disconnection could be more influential on immediate outcomes such as distraction and procrastination than on overall well-being per se ( Valkenburg, 2022 ). Future theoretical models of disconnection effects and empirical research could account for how motivations and behaviors shape the consequences that disconnection has for various outcomes, including both momentary and longer-term subjective well-being.

Our study also revealed no moderating effect of digital skills in the relationship between digital disconnection and subjective well-being. We also did not find a relationship between digital skills and disconnection behavior, which is in contrast with earlier research suggesting the existence of socio-digital inequalities in disconnection practices ( Gui & Büchi, 2021 ; Nguyen, 2021 ; Nguyen & Hargittai, 2023 ). It could be that digital skills are particularly important for disconnection strategies that are highly technical, such as adjusting device and app settings ( Nguyen, 2021 ). In our study, many of the strategies listed—and especially the most used strategies (e.g., putting screen devices away/with the screen down)—do not require advanced digital skills but perhaps rather high levels of self-regulation. For instance, research shows that people with lower self-control are more likely to respond to incoming notifications immediately ( Berger et al., 2018 ), which suggests they find it more difficult to ignore them. As such, a valid question is to what extent one’s self-control about remaining disconnected and not checking in on digital media is important for the success of one’s disconnection attempt and the benefits that people reap from it in terms of their well-being ( Vanden Abeele et al., 2022 ). Digital skills, then, likely matter more when it concerns more technologically advanced ways of disconnecting. Alternatively, it could be that our measure of digital skills (which asked about internet- and social media-related topics) does not reflect the skills needed to adjust device/app settings, although this would only be relevant for a few of the disconnection strategies listed (i.e., turn off notifications, turn off the internet), which were generally used less often. Moving forward, it could be fruitful to differentiate disconnection by device, platform, and type of social interaction (e.g., following the classification by Meier & Reinecke, 2020 ) and measure corresponding digital skills, as this could provide more precise insight into how people’s digital know-how interacts with disconnection practices.

Finally, we conducted additional exploratory analyses that revealed insight into the social context in which disconnection takes place. In particular, female participants were less likely to disconnect while being with friends, compared to their male counterparts, which is in line with research showing that phubbing occurs more often among women ( Chotpitayasunondh & Douglas, 2016 ). A potential explanation could be that women generally use digital media more to connect with family and friends ( Jackson et al., 2001 ), making it more challenging for them to disconnect. However, more research into gender roles and related inequalities in disconnection practices is warranted.

We also found that older people (age range was from 19 to 75 years) were more likely to disconnect around their partner. It could be that older people are more likely to have a partner, and that this explains our finding. However, it could also be that relationship quality and emotional closeness with one’s partner become increasingly important as one ages ( Birditt et al., 2009 ; Carstensen, 1992 ), resulting in a higher need to disconnect from digital media around one’s spouse. Moreover, research on disconnection in older adults has suggested that, unlike younger generations, older adults are less likely to experience conflicts between digital media use and social expectations and responsibilities—and therefore find it less difficult to disconnect ( Nguyen et al., 2021 ). Conversely, we found that younger people were more likely to disconnect around other family members (besides one’s children and spouse), friends, and colleagues. A possible explanation for this is that social norms around disconnection are more prevalent among younger generations ( Nguyen et al., 2022 ), and therefore may be more influential on disconnection behaviors among this age group. For future research, it could be fruitful to examine how social norms around disconnection, as well as generational differences in such normative perceptions, relate to the social contexts in which people disconnect. Research on the social context of disconnection may also consider whether people are living alone or are cohabiting with others (e.g., partner and children; Nguyen & Hargittai, 2023 ).

Our exploratory analyses revealed that when people disconnected in the copresence of others (versus when they did so while alone), their subjective well-being improved momentarily. This suggests that the situational, social context in which people disconnect is important for the perceived benefits derived from such intended technology disengagement. This makes sense, as the use of one’s smartphone at the expense of focusing on copresent others (i.e., phubbing) is generally found to be disturbing ( Vanden Abeele, 2020 ), which could motivate people to disconnect deliberately during social interactions. Overall, these findings support the hypothesis of “displacement” ( Dienlin et al., 2017 ; Kraut et al., 1998 ; Valkenburg & Peter, 2007 ), which implies that the use of digital media may be detrimental to well-being when its use goes at the expense of other meaningful (social) activities. The results are also in line with notions from Communicate Bond Belong theory ( Hall & Davis, 2017 ) and related conceptualizations of digital solitude ( Campbell & Ross, 2022 ), which suggest that people invest their social energy in social interactions that benefit their well-being (be it digitally or in-person). In this case, intended disconnection from technology when one is physically co-present could be done to prioritize the in-person social interaction, which might foster connectedness and sense of well-being overall. Conversely, it is also worth considering that some might use digital media as a way of practicing solitude and disconnecting from one’s immediate social environment ( Keessens, 2023 ), and, for such people, disconnection then might be less beneficial for well-being. In this study, we only collected data on social context for situations in which people disconnected, so we are unable to test whether individuals who are more often in social contexts and disconnect show different effects compared to those who are more often alone. This could be an important avenue for future research.

Limitations

Several limitations and caveats to this study have been mentioned throughout the article already. Nonetheless, it is important to recap these and note other caveats. First, we used mobile application software to send participants six questionnaires each day over the course of one week. These prompts, as well as reminders when participants did not respond, may have interrupted their moments of disconnection—especially as disconnection is often done from one’s mobile phone ( Nguyen, 2021 ). In studying explicit disconnection, other methods of momentary assessments that do not involve people’s personal devices, such as a beeper with paper and pencil questionnaires or a separate device just for study purposes, might be preferable.

It is important to note that the experience sampling software we used was only available to Android users. Since iOS users tend to have higher incomes, the sample may be biased toward lower income users ( Slickdeals, 2018 ). Furthermore, the use of an experience sampling app (from installation to responding to questions on it) means that participants needed a fair bit of digital skills to make their participation work, which could lead to potential biases as well. This is reflected in participants’ relatively high average level of skill in this study, even though we had lower-skilled participants as well.

Our study was conducted in The Netherlands, which is a relatively high-income nation with a good digital infrastructure. As such, it is important to realize that the findings might not generalize to other geographic and cultural contexts. Recent research has pointed to digital inequalities in disconnection practices and has called for more scholarship in countries that are less often the focus of inquiry ( Bozan & Treré, 2023 ; Treré, 2021 ). We encourage future research to do so, as well, and to embark on cross-national studies to put findings into a comparative perspective.

On the whole, this study adds much needed empirical evidence to important debates about how the deliberate non-use of digital media relates to subjective well-being. As we find no main effects of everyday disconnection practices on subjective well-being, our research suggests that this relationship might be more complex than previous work has been able to consider. Additional exploratory analyses reveal that people vary greatly in the effect disconnection has on their well-being, ranging from negative to positive outcomes. Moreover, disconnecting when others are physically copresent related to greater well-being as opposed to when people disconnected while they were alone, suggesting that social context plays an important role in how people experience disconnection. Given the complexity of the relationship, whether disconnection practices affect individual well-being may be dependent on moderating factors such as people’s motivations for and self-control in disconnecting. While ESM studies are complex and require more resources than many other methods, they are able to capture people’s everyday disconnection experiences in their natural setting in ways that are difficult with other approaches. To this end, it is important for scholars to keep innovating methodologically in the realm of disconnection research and continue collecting such nuanced measures in the future.

The data and analysis code are available on the Open Science Framework ( https://osf.io/9chb6/ ).

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement “Disconnect2Reconnect” No. 891281, awarded to Minh Hao Nguyen when she was working at the Department of Communication and Media Research (IKMZ), University of Zurich.

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

In the preregistration materials the hypotheses are listed in a different order, but on substance are the same.

In the original preregistration, we planned to examine digital skills as a moderator of the relationship between disconnection and subjective well-being. Upon revisiting this, we decided to also include an exploratory research question on the relationship between digital skills and disconnection.

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• DOI: 10.4135/9781526492982
• Corpus ID: 247000673

The Digital Disconnect: The Social Causes and Consequences of Digital Inequalities

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The Digital Divide Essay: the Challenge of Technology and Equity

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Introduction

What is the digital divide, causes of the digital divide, reducing the divide, digital divide: essay conclusion, works cited.

The invention of the computer and the subsequent birth of the internet have been seen as the most significant advances of the 20th century.

Over the course of the past few decades, there has been a remarkable rise in the use of computers and the internet. Sahay asserts that the ability of computing technologies to traverse geographical and social barriers has resulted in the creation of a closer knit global community (36). In addition to this, the unprecedented high adoption rate of the internet has resulted in it being a necessity in the running of our day to day lives.

However, there have been concerns due to the fact that these life transforming technologies are disparately available to people in the society. People in the high-income bracket have been seen to have a higher access to computer and the internet. This paper argues that the digital divide does exist and sets out to provide a better understanding of the causes of the same. Solutions to this problem are also addressed by this paper.

The term divide is mostly used to refer to the economic gap that exists between the poor and richer members of the society. In relation to technology, the OECD defines digital divide as ” the gap between individuals, households, businesses and geographic areas at different socio-economic levels with regard both to their opportunities to access information and communication technologies (ICTs) and to their use of the Internet for a wide variety of activities.” (5). As such, the digital divide refers to the disparities in access of communication technology experienced by people.

While the respective costs of computers and internet access have reduced drastically over the years, these costs still remain significantly expensive for some people in the population. As a result of this, household income is still a large determinant of whether internet access is available at a home.

Income is especially a large factor in developing countries where most people still find the cost of owning a PC prohibitive. However, income as a factor leading to the digital divide is not only confined to developing nations. A report by the NTIA indicated that across the United States, internet access in homes continued to be closely correlated with the income levels (3).

Education also plays a key role in the digital divide. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration indicates that in America, certain groups such as Whites and Asian Americans who possess higher educational levels have higher levels of both computer ownership as well as access to the internet (3). This is because the more educated members of the society are having a higher rate of increased access to computers and internet access as opposed to the less educated.

A simple increase in the access to computer hardware resources through the production of low cost versions of information technology which is affordable to many does not necessarily result in a reduction in the digital divide. This is because in addition to the economic realities there are other prominent factors.

The lack of technological knowhow has been cited as further widening the digital divide. This means that even with access to technology, people might still be unable to make effective usage of the same. Sahay best expresses this problem by asserting that “just by providing people with computers and internet access, we cannot hope to devise a solution to bridge the digital divide.” (37).

Another cause of the digital divide is the social and cultural differences evident in most nations in the world. One’s race and culture have been known to have a deep effect on their adoption and use of a particular technology (Chen and Wellman 42).

This is an opinion which is shared by Sahay who notes that people with fears, assumptions or pre-conceived notions about technology may shy away from its usage (46). As such, people can have the economic means and access to computers and the internet but their culture may retard their use of the same.

The digital divide leads to a loss of the opportunity by many people to benefit from the tremendous economic and educational opportunities that the digital economy provides (NTIA 3). As such, the reduction of this divide by use of digital inclusion steps is necessary for everyone to share in the opportunities provided. As has been demonstrated above, one of the primary causes of the digital divide is the income inequality between people and nations.

Most developing countries have low income levels and their population cannot afford computers. To help alleviate this, programs have been put in place to reduce the cost of computers or even offer them for free to the developing countries. For example, a project by Quanta Computer Inc in 2007 set out to supply laptops to developing world children by having consumers in the U.S. buy 2 laptops and have one donated to Africa (Associated Press).

Studies indicate that males are more likely than females in the comparable population to have internet access at home mostly since women dismiss private computer and internet usage (Korupp and Szydlik 417). The bridging of this gender divide will therefore lead to a reduction in the digital divide that exists.

In recent years, there has been evidence that the gender divide is slowly closing up. This is mostly as a result of the younger generation who use the computer and internet indiscriminately therefore reducing the strong gender bias that once existed. This trend should be encouraged so as to further accelerate the bridging of the digital divide.

As has been illustrated in this paper, there exist non economic factors that may lead to people not making use of computers hence increasing the digital divide. These factors have mostly been dismissed as more attention is placed on the income related divide. However, dealing with this social and cultural related divides will also lead to a decrease in the divide. By alleviating the fears and false notions that people may have about technology, people will be more willing to use computers and the internet.

A divide, be it digital or economic acts as a major roadblock in the way for economic and social prosperity. This paper set out to investigate the digital divide phenomena. To this end, the paper has articulated the issue of digital divide, its causes and solutions to the problem.

While some people do suggest that the digital divide will get bridged on its own as time progresses, I believe that governments should take up affirmative action and fund projects that will result in a digitally inclusive society. Bridging of the digital divide will lead to people and nations increasingly being included in knowledge based societies and economies. This will have a positive impact to every community in the entire world.

Associated Press. Hundred-Dollar Laptop’ on Sale in Two-for-One Deal. 2007. Web.

Chen, Wenhong and Wellman, Barry. The Global Digital Divide- Within and Between Countries . IT & SOCIETY, VOLUME 1, ISSUE 7. 2004, PP. 39-45.

Korupp, Sylvia and Szydlik, Marc. Causes and Trends of the Digital Divide. European Sociological Review Vol. 21. no. 4, 2005.

National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Falling Through the Net: Towards Digital Inclusion . 2000. Web.

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Understanding the Digital Divide . 2001. Web.

Sahay, Rishika. The causes and Trends of the Digital Divide . 2005. Web.

• Digital Theory and Aesthetics Space and Network Cultures in the Urban Environment
• The Impact of Technology on Global Business
• Bridging Cultures: Colorado Street Bridge
• Bridging the Gap in Meeting Customer Expectations
• The Digital Divide Term Description
• Excess Use of Technology and Motor Development
• People Have Become Overly Dependent on Technology
• Technology and Negative Effects
• The Concept and Effects of Evolution of Electronic Health Record System Software
• Americans and Digital Knowledge
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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KATE THOMPSON DAVY: The right to disconnect spreads in the age of digital connection

Australia joins small group of countries allowing employees to ignore communications after hours.

On Monday, Australia became the latest country to enact a “right to disconnect (https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/companies/2024-08-26-new-law-allows-australians-to-ignore-work-emails-after-hours/)” for its citizens.

The new provision was officially passed in February, but kicked into effect at the beginning of the week for most workers. Small businesses (with fewer that 15 people) will be brought into the legal fold in August 2025...

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Democracy challenged

‘A Crisis Coming’: The Twin Threats to American Democracy

Credit... Photo illustration by Matt Chase

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By David Leonhardt

David Leonhardt is a senior writer at The Times who won the Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the Great Recession.

• Published Sept. 17, 2022 Updated June 21, 2023

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The United States has experienced deep political turmoil several times before over the past century. The Great Depression caused Americans to doubt the country’s economic system. World War II and the Cold War presented threats from global totalitarian movements. The 1960s and ’70s were marred by assassinations, riots, a losing war and a disgraced president.

These earlier periods were each more alarming in some ways than anything that has happened in the United States recently. Yet during each of those previous times of tumult, the basic dynamics of American democracy held firm. Candidates who won the most votes were able to take power and attempt to address the country’s problems.

The current period is different. As a result, the United States today finds itself in a situation with little historical precedent. American democracy is facing two distinct threats, which together represent the most serious challenge to the country’s governing ideals in decades.

The first threat is acute: a growing movement inside one of the country’s two major parties — the Republican Party — to refuse to accept defeat in an election.

The violent Jan. 6, 2021, attack on Congress , meant to prevent the certification of President Biden’s election, was the clearest manifestation of this movement, but it has continued since then. Hundreds of elected Republican officials around the country falsely claim that the 2020 election was rigged. Some of them are running for statewide offices that would oversee future elections, potentially putting them in position to overturn an election in 2024 or beyond.

“There is the possibility, for the first time in American history, that a legitimately elected president will not be able to take office,” said Yascha Mounk, a political scientist at Johns Hopkins University who studies democracy.

Vote Margins by State in Presidential Elections since 1988

Senate representation by state.

Residents of less populated states like Wyoming and North Dakota, who are disproportionately white, have outsize influence.

1 voter in Wyoming

has similar representation as

1 voter in North Dakota

6 voters in Connecticut

7 voters in Alabama

18 voters in Michigan

59 voters in California

has similar

representation as

Landslides in 2020 House Elections

There were about twice as many districts where a Democratic House candidate won by at least 50 percentage points as there were districts where a Republican candidate won by as much.

Landslide (one candidate won

by at least 50 percentage points)

Barbara Lee

Calif. District 13

Jerry Nadler

N.Y. District 10

Diana DeGette

Colo. District 1

Donald Payne Jr.

N.J. District 10

Jesús García

Ill. District 4

Landslide (one candidate won by at least 50 percentage points)

Presidential Appointments of Supreme Court Justices

Supreme Court appointments

Presidential election winners

Popular vote

Electoral College

Party that nominated a justice

David H. Souter (until 2009)

Clarence Thomas

Ruth Bader Ginsburg (until 2020)

Stephen G. Breyer (until 2022)

John G. Roberts Jr.

Samuel A. Alito Jr.

Sonia Sotomayor

Elena Kagan

Neil M. Gorsuch

Brett M. Kavanaugh

Amy Coney Barrett

Ketanji Brown Jackson

Supreme Court

Presidential election

nominated a justice

Souter (until 2009)

Ginsburg (until 2020)

Breyer (until 2022)

State Legislators and Election Lies

The share of Republican state legislators who have taken steps, as of May 2022, to discredit or overturn the 2020 presidential election results

Pennsylvania

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Unplugged: Navigating the ‘Right to Disconnect’ in Australia

The ‘Right to Disconnect’ legislation set to take effect across Australia on August 26, 2024, marks a significant shift in how we approach work-life balance and digital connectivity. This new law, aimed at protecting employees from unreasonable out-of-hours contact, has sparked discussions about its potential impacts on both individual well-being and organisational productivity. As Australia joins a growing list of countries, like France, Belgium and Italy, implementing similar measures, it’s crucial to examine the implications of this legislative change.

Understanding the right to disconnect and its nuances

One of the primary goals of this legislation is to address the growing concerns about employee burnout and mental health issues associated with an “always-on” work culture. The constant pressure to remain available and responsive to work matters, even during personal time, has been linked to increased stress levels, poor sleep quality, and decreased overall well-being. By providing a legal framework for disconnection, the new law aims to promote better work-life balance and protect employees’ mental health.

The legislation outlines factors to consider when determining whether contact outside working hours is reasonable. These include the nature and urgency of the reason for contact, the method of contact (e.g., a phone call versus an email), whether the employee is compensated for working outside of their ordinary hours, the level of the employee’s responsibility within the organisation, and the employee’s personal circumstances

Potential benefits and challenges

Proponents of the law argue that it will lead to more rested, focused, and productive employees.For example, when workers have uninterrupted personal time to recharge and engage in non-work activities in the evening, they are likely to return to work more energised and efficient the next day. This could potentially result in higher quality work output and increased job satisfaction, benefitting both employees and employers in the long run.

Moreover, the legislation may encourage organisations to reassess their work processes and communication practices. Companies might be prompted to implement more efficient systems for task management and information sharing during working hours, reducing the need for after-hours communication. This could lead to improved organisational efficiency and a culture that values focused work over constant availability.

However, the implementation of the ‘Right to Disconnect’ is not without challenges. In a globalised business environment, many Australian companies operate across different time zones or collaborate with international partners. The legislation will require these organisations to carefully navigate the balance between global business needs and employee rights. It may necessitate the development of new protocols for urgent communications and the establishment of clear guidelines on what constitutes a genuine work emergency.

Critics are concerned about its consequences for business flexibility and competitiveness, where strict enforcement of disconnection could hinder innovation and responsiveness, particularly in industries that thrive on rapid communication and dynamic problem-solving. There are also questions about how the law will apply to employees with flexible working arrangements or those in roles that require some level of out-of-hours availability.

Impact on work-life balance

Hyperconnectivity, fuelled by digital technologies, has blurred the lines between work and personal life, contributing to a sense of constant availability and negatively impacting employee well-being.

The implementation of the law is expected to have a positive impact on work-life balance by enabling individuals to fully disconnect from work during their personal time and foster a healthy separation between their professional and personal lives. This can lead to reduced stress levels, improved mental health, and enhanced overall well-being. Employees will also have more time to spend with their families, pursue hobbies, and engage in activities that promote their physical and mental health.

Furthermore, the law encourages a shift towards a more results-oriented work culture, where employees are evaluated based on their outputs and achievements rather than their constant availability. This can lead to increased focus and productivity during working hours, as employees escape the pressure to respond to work-related communications around-the-clock.

Implementation and adaptation

The success of the ‘Right to Disconnect’ legislation will largely depend on how it is interpreted and implemented by both employers and employees. Organisations will need to develop clear policies that outline expectations for after-hours communication while ensuring that critical business functions are not compromised. This may involve redefining roles, adjusting workflows, and possibly increasing staffing in certain areas to ensure coverage without infringing on individual rights to disconnect. For employees, the legislation presents an opportunity to reassess their own habits and boundaries around work.

While the law provides protection, it also requires individuals to take responsibility for managing their own connectivity and setting healthy limits. This might involve adjusting notification settings on devices, communicating clearly with colleagues about availability, and learning to prioritise tasks effectively during working hours. Importantly, the law empowers employees with connectivity agency, enabling them to make informed choices about their digital engagement outside of work hours, fostering a sense of control over their work-life balance.

Long-term impact on work-life balance, productivity and innovation

The impact on organisational productivity is likely to be multifaceted. Initially, there may be a period of adjustment as companies and employees adapt to the new norms. Some short-term disruptions to workflows and communication patterns are to be expected. However, the Right to Disconnect has the potential to foster a more sustainable and productive work environment in the long-term.

By reducing the risk of burnout and promoting better work-life balance, the legislation could lead to lower employee turnover rates and associated costs. It may also enhance employer branding, making organisations more attractive to potential hires who value work-life balance. This could give Australian companies an edge in the global talent market, particularly as similar laws become more common internationally.

The ‘Right to Disconnect’ also presents an opportunity for organisations to innovate in their approach to work. It may accelerate the adoption of asynchronous communication tools and project management systems that allow for efficient collaboration without constant real-time interaction. This shift could lead to more thoughtful, deliberate communication and decision-making processes, potentially improving the quality of work outputs. The ‘Right to Disconnect’ also presents an opportunity for organisations to innovate in their approach to work. It may accelerate the adoption of asynchronous communication tools and project management systems that allow for efficient collaboration without constant real-time interaction. This shift could lead to more thoughtful, deliberate communication and decision-making processes, potentially improving the quality of work outputs.

Redefining work in the digital age

As Australia implements this legislation, it will be crucial to monitor its effects and remain open to adjustments as needed. The law’s success will depend on finding the right balance between protecting employee well-being and maintaining business agility. It will require ongoing dialogue between employers, employees, and policymakers to ensure that the intended goals are achieved without unduly burdening businesses or stifling economic growth.

The ‘Right to Disconnect’ legislation represents a significant step towards redefining the relationship between work and personal life in the digital age. While challenges in implementation are to be expected, the potential benefits for employee well-being and sustainable productivity are substantial. As workplaces adapt to this new framework, Australia has the opportunity to lead the way in creating a more balanced, healthy, and productive work culture.

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The right to disconnect has started, giving Australians legal cover to stop responding to emails and calls after hours

Topic: Work

Lachy is a shift worker who says the right to disconnect will allow him to "get some of my life back". ( Supplied )

The right to disconnect means you can reasonably refuse to be contacted outside of work hours.

For people tied to the "digital leash" of phones and email this marks a substantial boost in their right to break free.

What's next?

Employees of smaller businesses will be able to disconnect after work on August 22, 2025.

Millions of Australians will now be able to clock off from their work shifts without having to be available after hours.

Under right to disconnect laws, employees from Monday will have the right to refuse contact outside their working hours — including calls and emails — unless that refusal is unreasonable.

"Oh, it'll be a weight off my shoulders, for sure," said shift worker Lachy.

He is looking forward to living his life outside of work hours, without worrying if the phone will ring with news about his job.

"It'll give me some of my life back. Even going out to walk the dogs, going out with the mates," he said.

"If I receive a phone call, there is some expectation that I do pick up."

Performing extra unpaid hours of work is common in Australia and many jobs come with an expectation of being contactable beyond paid or rostered hours.

But the right to disconnect is aiming to create limits around this work culture and the so-called 'digital leash' of phones, laptops and easily accessible email.

While it may be welcome news to employees, it doesn't mean the boss can't call you.

What it does mean is you might not have to answer.

What do the new laws mean for you?

The distinction is important. Brent Ferguson, head of national workplace relations policy for employer body Ai Group, explained the new laws won't bring an end to late-night calls.

"This isn't a prohibition on an employer contacting or attempting to contact an employee," he said.

"It's a new right for an employee to refuse that contact, to refuse to monitor their emails, or to refuse to take a telephone call from their employer, if it's outside of their working hours."

While the details are still being worked out, one thing is clear: today workers at businesses with more than 15 employees get the right to disconnect.

The legislation is thin, but it states that if there is a dispute, it has to be first dealt with "at the workplace level by discussions" between workers and bosses.

"It is subject to that important caveat that [employees] can only refuse if their refusal is 'not unreasonable'," Mr Ferguson said.

"Now, what's reasonable or unreasonable is going to depend on the individual circumstances.

"And that uncertainty is part of the difficulty that industry is really grappling with at the moment."

How the pandemic blurred our working and personal lives

Academic Gabrielle Golding said the COVID-19 pandemic and enforced "work from home" periods promoted growth in what she calls "availability creep".

"During that time when we were, by and large, forced to work from home, we were kind of training ourselves to be constantly available within our homes and elsewhere outside of the workplace," she said.

Dr Gabrielle Golding is a senior lecturer at the University of Adelaide Law School, focussed on labour law and workers rights. ( Supplied: Gabrielle Golding )

Even as restrictions rolled back, cheap and easy access to digital connectivity meant being available became a default setting for employees.

Many employers took advantage of it, but the new laws should give workers the option to reset.

"If we have some sort of a 'guard rail' in place like this, it will change the patterns in the way in which people are conducting work," Dr Golding said.

"And hopefully give them an opportunity to take some of their private life back."

Just like doctors who work on call and shift workers who get penalties for starting early in the morning, it could be that disconnect laws prompt people who are expected to be available to win compensation for that time in future.

The legislation has a requirement that disputes are dealt with at a workplace level first.

Sally McManus, secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), said "workers have got a brand new right", which is "really awesome".

Sally McManus says the right to disconnect means if your employer contacts you, "it has got to be reasonable". ( ABC News: Ian Cutmore )

"What that basically means is your employer can't harass you after work," she said.

"So emails, calls … if they contact you, it's got to be reasonable, and you've got a right not to respond."

Ms McManus said "if you work, you should get paid" and the right to disconnect will enable workers to put in place boundaries between their work and personal life.

"Not all employers, but some employers have completely blurred or just crossed over those boundaries and are expecting people to be connected and answer their emails and look at their phones, 24/7," she said.

"And that's just not on."

It may mean employees don't have to check their phone every few minutes

Lachy works at Melbourne Airport, a role that requires him to work shifts at odd times.

"If you go to check in for a flight, I'll be there. You go to board a flight, I'll be there," he said.

Like many who work difficult and unsociable hours, he struggles to rest and sometimes wakes up to missed calls and texts.

Lachy works shifts at the airport and has welcomed the idea of not having to answer work calls after hours. ( ABC News: Billy Draper )

"There'll be days where I'm not rostered to work but I wake up to a call from work thinking: 'Hang on, what day is it? When am I scheduled to work?'

"It's reminiscent of when you would be waking up like for a school day and thinking: 'Oh crap, I'm late.'

"I suppose it's a form of anxiety. You feel the phone ring, and I don't think 'Oh it's one of my friends or family'. I think: 'It's work.'"

Lachy loves his job, taking a call from his employer while the ABC is interviewing him at his house, but he is looking forward to being protected when he reasonably refuses contact from them.

"Just the expectation to be taken off my shoulders that I don't have to check my phone every few minutes to see if there's been any changes to my roster," he said.

"[Or] if they've sent out any emails that are changing how we're working. It'll be a weight off my shoulders, for sure."

How will disconnecting actually work?

More than 20 countries have put in place similar laws, and research has found improved wellbeing and work satisfaction in companies with right-to-disconnect policies.

In Australia, Telstra has set boundaries around employees being contacted — or feeling like they should be available — for years.

Despite being in the business of selling communications, and the need for constant monitoring and maintenance of vital networks, the company has built in boundaries so staff are not "always on".

Telstra human resources executive Kathryn van rer Merwe said there will "always be a requirement to contact certain people for certain types of situations". ( ABC News: Matthew Holmes )

"A lot of it comes down to behaviours and work practises," said Kathryn van der Merwe, the human resources executive in charge of Telstra's 31,000 employees.

"It's reminding our people of the importance of having a conversation within your team, with a leader and a team agreeing a set of 'team norms' and work practises.

"And reminding people that we also have tools that actually help to respect those boundaries and personal time."

Dr van der Merwe suggested tools such as the "delay send" function on emails, or stating a person's normal working days and hours in their email signature.

There will always be a need for certain people and roles to have a reasonable expectation of being contactable, she said, and many are compensated specifically for that.

For everyone else, Dr van der Merwe sees the start of the right to disconnect as a reminder to work in ways that respect an employee's personal time.

"We all, I think, have felt that blurring between work and personal life, particularly as we spend more time working from home."

"This gives us a chance to have a renewed conversation [about] some of our ways of working and to reset some norms to help firm up those boundaries."

Will there be guidelines around the 'right to disconnect'?

The legislation requires the Fair Work Commission (FWC) to provide guidelines around the new entitlement. But it has so far declined to do so.

Instead, FWC found it would be better off issuing guidelines after it has dealt with a few disputes around the new entitlement.

Employees from today will have the right to refuse contact outside their working hours unless that refusal is unreasonable. ( Pixabay )

So expect to see "test cases" that tease out the difficult legal and practical nature of the word 'reasonable' and what it means in a world where mobile phones are ubiquitous and employees want flexibility in how and where they can work.

"The new entitlement is cast in very broad terms," Mr Ferguson said.

"We're going to have to see how it operates in practice over time to understand exactly what the parameters of the new right are."

Ms McManus believes the new right could take us back to a time when the life/work balance of Australians was in better shape.

"We have lost that over a period of time," she said, noting that Australians' long working hours harm mental health.

"If you're constantly connected, if you're not able to switch off, if you're not able to refresh and recuperate … obviously you're going to be a worse worker."

The right to disconnect could end what she calls "unreasonable pressure" on workers.

"So this is actually good for employers, as well as for workers," Ms McManus said.

"A more productive workforce where people actually are rested enough and they're not constantly driven by the beeping and the notifications on their phone."

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Exploring Liquid Cooling and Digital Twin Technology in Today's Data Centers

The need for efficient data centers continues to grow as the world becomes increasingly digitalized. While heat has always been a significant challenge for data centers, liquid cooling and digital twins offer remarkable solutions to continue delivering energy efficiency in a world with changing IT technology.

Liquid Cooling: The Future of Modern Cooling Systems

Data centers contain powerful components that generate a lot of heat. The traditional remedy has been air cooling, but this method often struggles to keep up with growing heat densities in servers and racks. On the other hand, liquid cooling, which uses fluid substances like water-based coolants to absorb heat, shows great promise.

Water, for instance, can hold about 4.2 times more heat per kilogram than air and can store around 3,500 times more energy per volume. This ensures that even tiny amounts can be pumped around high-powered components to remove heat efficiently.

Liquid cooling boosts power densities that can be cooled, effectively recovering heat while consuming less energy than air cooling. It’s a vital solution for avoiding overheating and performance issues, and it’s particularly effective for high-density server racks when loads exceed around 20kW per rack.

Braving the Challenges of Direct-to-Chip Liquid Cooling and Immersion Cooling in Data Centers

There are fundamentally two approaches to liquid cooling: direct-to-chip cooling, where liquid is directed to cold plates on the hot components (such as CPUs, GPUs, and memory), and immersion cooling, where the whole IT system is immersed in liquid.

Although liquid cooling presents a host of benefits, it also has challenges. Electrical risks, though much reduced thanks to dripless quick connectors and negative pressure systems, are still a primary concern for operators.

In addition, integrating liquid cooling in data centers that already use air cooling can be tricky. Both systems must operate well together to ensure efficiency, which usually involves coordinating complex logistics and significant investments.

Immersion cooling adds extra complications, but it offers the potential of even more of the heat being captured by the fluid than with direct-to-chip liquid cooling. Concerns about material compatibility and the impact of increasing power demands on natural flow effectiveness need to be addressed.

Modern Data Centers Need Digital Twins

Digital twins—virtual models of data centers—can help designers and operators plan to cool their facilities optimally. With this technology, they can evaluate options and validate the best proposals through simulations that predict the facility outcomes.

Operators can evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of different cooling strategies and test multiple deployment scenarios. When connected to environmental monitoring systems and similar technologies, digital twins evolve alongside their physical counterparts, enabling continuous identification of improvement opportunities.

They can evaluate the impact of new hardware or denser servers on the cooling system, helping to prevent issues such as slow IT performance and lost capacity. When powered by a physics-based simulation engine, a digital twin can simulate cooling and airflow, showing how these factors fluctuate with each deployment.

Given the dynamic nature of data centers, understanding how equipment responds to new setups is crucial for effectively meeting growing demands and budgeting. Digital twins enable teams to explore numerous scenarios, maximizing capacity while minimizing risks, which is vital for energy efficiency and reducing carbon footprints.

Implementing Liquid Cooling Using Digital Twin Technology

Liquid cooling has the potential to revolutionize modern data centers. By effectively handling heat through direct-to-chip and immersion cooling, data centers can achieve high efficiency and reliability.

Introducing digital twins into the mix further aids decision-making, enabling operators to tailor cooling strategies to their needs. Digital twins empower stakeholders to evaluate all options, predict outcomes, and make informed decisions to prepare their data centers for future changes, such as deploying previously unconsidered higher power densities associated with AI without incurring risks.

While there are hurdles to clear, advancements in technology and practices are creating a pathway for broader adoption. As the demand for data processing continues to soar, the role of liquid cooling and digital twins becomes increasingly crucial in maintaining performance and sustainability in the ever-evolving field of data centers.

Mark Seymour

Mark Seymour is a Distinguished Engineer at Cadence , where he leverages his entrepreneurial and technical expertise of 30+ years in the field to develop its products and services. Previously, he co-founded and served as Chief Technology Officer at Future Facilities, driving its growth and innovation before its acquisition.

Cadence is a pivotal leader in electronic systems design, building upon more than 30 years of computational software expertise. The company applies its underlying Intelligent System Design strategy to deliver software, hardware, and IP that turn design concepts into reality. Cadence acquired Future Facilities in 2022 for its expert 6SigmaDCX and 6SigmaET simulation software suites to expand its electronics product portfolio and facilitate energy efficiency and performance optimization for the data center industry through digital twin technology – now Cadence Reality DC .

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