Impacts on Individuals

Modern technology such as phones, laptops and fast internet changes how you work, study and relax, and those changes can help or harm you as an individual. The effects on individuals are often grouped into flexibility, working styles and mental wellbeing.

Group	Possible positive impact on the individual	Possible negative impact on the individual
Flexibility	You can fit work around other commitments, such as watching recorded lessons in the evening when you also have a weekend job.	With no set hours, work can spread into your free time and it becomes harder to switch off.
Working styles	You can pick the time, device and place that suit the task, such as sketching ideas on a tablet and doing detailed editing on a desktop later.	Swapping devices and places can break your concentration and make a routine hard to keep.
Mental wellbeing	You can feel in control of your schedule, adjusting plans to meet your family's needs, and move away from a stressful place while staying in touch.	Working alone for long periods can lead to loneliness and depression.

Mental wellbeing is how you feel about yourself and your life. It can improve when technology lets you move away from a stressful place and still stay in touch: if a crowded, noisy room makes you anxious, you can work quietly on a laptop elsewhere. That is separation from a stressful environment. Being able to decide when you start and stop also helps you feel in control of your own schedule, for example shifting work so you can collect a younger brother from school.

It can be harmed too. Loneliness is feeling alone even when you could contact other people, and depression is a low mood that lasts and affects daily life. They are different, but long stretches of working alone can contribute to both.

The same technology affects two people differently. A step-count app might motivate you by showing you walked further than yesterday, while someone else could feel anxious every time they miss a daily target.

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