Social innovators: want to increase 'happiness'? Facebook could provide answers.

Social entrepreneurs engaged in IT may do well to look to social networking sites such as Facebook for inspiration. This is one piece of advice that came from the discussion on the report on IT and wellbeing Information Dividend Report: Can IT make you 'happier'? The findings of the report highlight the direct and positive impact that IT has on life satisfaction. The discussion took place earlier this week in London and was headed up by a panel of the UK's leading IT experts.

The discussion began with a talk from the Paul Flatters of Trajectory Partnership, who conducted the research. He spoke about some of the key findings to come out of the report. The research found that IT has the biggest positive impact on the most disempowered groups in society. Those on low incomes and those with fewest educational qualifications showed the biggest uplift in life satisfaction as a result of access to IT. Mr Flatters spoke about moving stories of how use of IT had allowed people a second chance in education and as a result employment they would not other wise have gained. People also talked about the savings that they could make online on things like insurance and how those could mean the difference of being able to afford a holiday. These finding may not come as a surprise for social entrepreneurs already engaged in IT initiatives. However one significant finding that does not usually get talked about in relation to IT was the improvement to life, which cannot not be quantified, in monetary terms. This was the increased social contact that access to IT can bring.

This is where the benefit of social networking sites becomes more apparent. Sites such as Facebook provide a portal for social interaction that may not otherwise be available to people. This is especially true for women. Many women interviewed for the study said that they felt socially isolated in their everyday lives and that online social networking helped them to feel part of something. Another reason that social entrepreneurs may find the Facebook 'model' interesting is as a way of engaging those who are frightened by IT. A key theme to come from the report is the negative perception of IT among groups of people who would, according to the research, benefit from it most. According to the study this is a huge part of the problem of digital exclusion in places such as the UK where people do have easier access to IT. The study found that many people feel intimidated by the idea of using computers. The perception they have of IT is that it is too complicated or too sophisticated for them and that they may 'break' it or lose information. Using Facebook may be good a way for the social entrepreneurs to tempt people into IT and help demonstrate to them the benefits of engaging with computers and the Internet.

The big idea that seems to come from this report is that people can only be encouraged to engage with IT if it brings benefits that are relevant to their lifes. Although much can be done to improve access to IT people will only use it if they can see it as worthwhile supplement to their everyday experiences. These conclusions open up an enormous agenda set. As Dr Ellen Helsper from the London School of Economics said: "Good research raises more questions." Social entrepreneurs engaged in IT will be asking what needs to be done next?

A video of the discussion is available here. Two webinars have been planned to dive deeper into two important elements of the report:

1. The digital 'gender' divide on 29th September at 1pm GMT www.bcs.org/infodividend/webinars and

2. What are the social benefits of technology and how can these be measured? (International story) on 29th September at 2.30pm GMT www.bcs.org/infodividend/webinars

Photo credit: Ben Stein