How individuals in Switzerland negotiate their everyday digital technology use—Insights from a mixed-methods analysis (Dissertation Summary)

Abstract

Digital technologies pervade the lives of many people in Switzerland. This increasing digital datafication brings opportunities but also risks like algorithmization, dataveillance, and related to this, threats to subjective well-being. In my dissertation, I argue that individuals cope with such risks by engaging in different practices. To investigate these practices, I use a mixed-methods research design. Using representative surveys, I show that social inequalities are related to digital skills and internet usage over time, and also that being aware of a risk, feeling affected by it, and having the necessary skills are crucial for applying self-help strategies to cope with it. Using qualitative interviews, I show that individuals’ dataveillance imaginaries play a central role in the self-inhibition of digital communication, and also that resistance to digital technologies can be a way to deal with their omnipresence. From these findings, I derive an integrated conceptual framework, which illustrates that internet users actively negotiate their use of digital technologies through digital practices and sheds light on the factors associated with this process. By doing so, this dissertation advances critical discussions around individuals’ digital technology use and provides the basis for evidence-based policy strategies aiming at a more inclusive digitized society.