Switching Off to Switch On: An Ontological Inquiry into the Many Facets of Digital Well-Being

In the last couple of years, there has been widespread recognition that digital well-being requires an initial conceptualization and a multidisciplinary approach to characterize the technological and human infrastructures behind the surge of applications intended to trigger behavioral and attitudinal transformations. From self-monitoring functionalities to screen dimming and real-time notifications, digital well-being applications present a distinct set of affordances and design requirements when compared to other media-based solutions. In line with this, the purpose of this research design is to delineate an initial ontology-based scheme for digital well-being taking into consideration the different building blocks, harms, challenges, and players in this transformative ecosystem at both micro and macro levels. By starting from the most basic situational contexts within which digital practices shape and are shaped by technology use, this study employs a domain-specific approach towards an ontological inquiry aimed at providing a description of the concepts and architectural elements underlying persuasive technology applications that promote digital well-being interventions. The goal is to encourage the development of a new route for more holistic and accurate depictions in this emerging phenomenon.