The Future of Coaching: Digital well-being in a hyperconnected world
Highlights:
- Digital well-being equips individuals to navigate a world of hyperconnectivity, where the rapid advancement of technology sometimes goes beyond human capacities.
- The ICF Thought Leadership Institute’s STEERE framework explores how social, technological, economic, ecological, regulatory, and ethical influences shape the future of digital well-being.
- Coaches can guide individuals and organizations in prioritizing values centered on humanity, paving the way for a reimagined understanding of digital lives.
In a world where smartphones connect over four billion people, an unexpected paradox emerges . Despite unmatched digital connections, a deep sense of isolation reveals a need to redefine what it means to be human in a digital world. In this technology-saturated future, coaches can help cultivate a sense of digital well-being.
Explore the future of digital well-being:
1. Trends shaping the future of digital well-being
2. Applying the ICF Thought Leadership Institute STEERE framework
3. Coaching frameworks for fostering well-being
4. Coaching can lead the change: Implications for the future
5. Learn more: Futures thinking in action
1. Trends shaping the future of digital well-being
Defining digital well-being
Digital well-being is the result of thoughtful engagement with digital technologies. The concept of digital well-being is more than screen time management. Instead, the future requires a digital world where humans and technology coexist harmoniously. Digital well-being will be central to balancing digital identity as people navigate the future trends of hyperconnectivity, rapid technological advancement, and the next-generation internet.
The hyperconnectivity trend
The combination of hyperconnectivity and the ever-expanding Internet of Things (IoT) will transform the human experience of self. The journey towards digital well-being reflects a collective endeavor to reconcile both for a holistic and purposeful life.
By 2025, over 55 billion IoT devices will form the infrastructure for a vast, interconnected digital ecosystem. The hyperconnectivity era brings many benefits, including economic expansion, poverty alleviation, sustained global connections, and enhanced online interactions. Yet, it introduces complex challenges such as the overflow of information, privacy dilemmas, and the onset of digital burnout.
Rapid technological advancement trend
A constant stream of new devices, platforms, and applications impacts every aspect of daily existence. Quantum technologies will deliver scalable, dependable virtual experiences that mirror the tactile richness of reality. Yet the speed of innovation and pressure for immediate responses will transform how humanity connects most profoundly.
The speed of change can feel overwhelming because it requires continuous learning to master new norms and expectations. The rapid assimilation of technologies calls for a deliberate approach to adoption that enhances, rather than detracts from, a sense of overall well-being.
The human-centered internet trend
The growing call to redefine the relationship with technology is recreating the future. This next-generation internet offers intelligent and immersive experiences, safeguards autonomy and privacy, and is accessible to individuals of all abilities and levels of digital literacy. The quest for a human-centered internet is a paradigm shift in technology design that requires substantial resources and intricate technical solutions rooted in global collaboration.
Other factors influencing digital well-being
Digital natives will redefine digital well-being
Millennials and Generation Z are reimagining the next-generation internet. These digital natives acknowledge the adverse effects of social media on mental health yet embrace technology as a critical component of the solution to digital well-being. As the first generation to experience widespread digital connectivity, Generation Z is at the core of a demand for a human-centered digital life, with 58% seeking more uplifting content and 53% asserting a moral responsibility of digital platforms to ensure safe spaces. These preferences are catalysts for change, profoundly affecting how online communities interact and brands engage with audiences.
The digital attention economy
With a limited focus on user engagement, the digital attention economy negatively impacts mental well-being. The constant demand for engagement, or immediacy, by digital devices and platforms does not nurture meaningful digital wellness.
- The digital ecosystem is intentionally designed as a constant cycle of social comparison, feeding a psychological fear of missing out (FOMO) that distorts perceptions of self and community.
- Turning human connection into a commodity diminishes the sincerity of genuine relationships.
- The excess of misinformation and confrontational content weakens mutual trust and decreases empathy, eroding social connections.
Mitigating these impacts requires a cooperative effort to enforce regulations of harmful practices, expand digital literacy, and redesign social media and AI algorithms to prioritize well-being. Digital well-being is essential for a sustainable integration of digital advancements into the fabric of human society.
Trends shaping the future of digital well-being:
Hyperconnectivity will redefine the human experience and, if unchecked, will increase human inequality globally.
The speed and immediacy of the internet will challenge humans to adapt their cognitive and social frameworks to foster new ways to connect.
The Next Generation Internet will be human-centered, where privacy, inclusion, and ethics lead the way.
2. Applying the ICF Thought Leadership Institute STEERE framework
Analyzing the critical social, technological, economic, ecological, regulatory, and ethical influences through the STEERE futures thinking framework provides perspective to help coaches prepare for the future.
- Digital connectivity increasingly blurs cultural boundaries so cultural competence will become crucial.
- Continuous learning and meta-skills, such as cooperation and adaptability, will be needed in a hyperconnected digital future.
- Coaches can help individuals create a blended social existence to mediate digital isolation.
- The mainstreaming of AR and VR technologies will have a profound impact on personal and professional domains.
- Digital hygiene practices and technical fluency will improve individual digital well-being.
- Coaches can leverage digital coaching tools and predictive analytics to anticipate client needs and personalize coaching sessions more effectively.
- New economic models, cryptocurrencies, and digital assets will power new digital economies around the globe, potentially accelerating inequality in some countries. The rise of gig economy platforms will increase the pressure to be constantly available, leading to digital burnout and stress.
- Coaches can specialize in digital economic resilience, helping clients adapt to rapidly changing economic models based on technology.
- Regenerative digital habits will contribute to environmental sustainability, supporting green tech and reducing e-waste.
- Incorporating biophilic digital design elements will improve digital well-being, especially in the workplace.
- Eco-conscious coaching models can include digitally responsible choices aligned with personal growth and ecological stewardship.
- International data protection and privacy regulations will respond to the need for shared governance in a hyperconnected and interdependent world.
- Digital accessibility policies and practices will be widespread and designed for all digital literacy levels.
- Future coaching will adapt to tighter regulatory environments and advocate for fair and ethical regulations for digital well-being.
- Responsible use and stewardship by platforms will balance the benefits of data-driven insights with privacy rights.
- Ethical digital citizens will have agency over the impact of their digital footprint and interactions.
- Future coaching can adopt ethics-first frameworks and updated core competencies through the complex decisions needed for this digital future.
Signals of change in digital well-being
A signal is an indicator of a possible future. Signals are derived from current events that suggest potentially influential change is emerging and taking shape. In futures thinking, signal watching helps coaches anticipate and prepare for the more plausible and probable futures.
Signals of change in digital well-being
The Global Day of Unplugging and designated no-tech spaces signals a social norm to consciously disconnect from technology and re-engage with the physical world.
The increasing popularity of digital detox and technology-free tourism signals expanding pathways to rest and recover from the immediacy of technology.
The growth of the phygital market signals acceptance of blended digital and physical identities in an immersive future.
The benefits and challenges of digital well-being
Benefits:
- Minimizing digital clutter improves creativity and reduces cognitive load in a busy world.
- Tailoring a digital life around personal values sparks reflection, strengthens personal connections, and better harmonizes work, play, and downtime.
- Establishing digital boundaries promotes digital behaviors and identifies choices for more intentional use of technology.
Challenges:
- The individualized aspect of digital well-being makes universal strategies difficult, emphasizing the need for personalization.
- There is a lack of regulatory measures and systemic support to bridge the digital divide, improve digital literacy, and democratize access.
- Technologies and tools power a digital attention economy that overlooks the well-being of people for profit.
3. Coaching frameworks for fostering well-being
A digital well-being ecosystem framework for the future of coaching
The world is experiencing an overwhelming technological revolution and a growing wisdom gap in managing, governing, and understanding its long-term implications. The Center for Humane Technology provides an ethical compass for cultivating a digital ecosystem framework to harmonize technology, social norms, and policy frameworks.
Coaching for this future can borrow from digital ethicists for a coaching-specific digital well-being ecosystem framework and contribute thoughtfully to bridging this wisdom gap. In this framework, wisdom-driven technology supports collective action and civic engagement to support ethical technology initiatives.
- Proactive systemic change can foster collaborations across sectors to co-create digital solutions for human beings, including technology design, business models, and regulatory frameworks.
- Integrating ecological well-being principles into digital practices promotes the adoption of environmentally friendly and socially responsible technologies.
- Strengthening both digital and real-world communities involves weaving empathy and connection into the fabric of online spaces, laying the groundwork for a future of enriched digital coexistence.
The Ethics of Care framework
The Ethics of Care framework promotes technology that nurtures emotional connections and communal well-being. Caring for others includes technology crafted to enhance human well-being and community vitality, moving away from placing profit-oriented goals first. Integrating inclusivity and accessibility into technological design promotes social justice that serves all communities equitably.
4. Coaching can lead the change: Implications for the future
Coaches can guide individuals to build digital well-being in a technology-saturated future.
- Coaches can model the way and integrate technology with the coaching mindset to demonstrate autonomy and confidence in digital life management.
- Coaching can support efforts to create harmony between the physical and virtual self.
- Coaches can equip individuals with the resilience and digital literacy to modify digital habits.
- Coaches can help clients cultivate authentic relationships and a sense of belonging in digital spaces.
- Coaches can use digital coaching and personalization to align digital activities with personal values and preferences.
5. Learn more: Futures thinking in action
Future thinking uses the “what if” approach to envision and prepare for various possible futures. Coaches play an important role in shaping these potential scenarios.
- What if virtual reality coaching becomes a standard tool for personal development? Virtual reality environments could simulate real-world challenges in a controlled setting, enhancing coaching effectiveness by adapting to users’ reactions in real time.
- What if social media incorporates real-time well-being coaching? AI-enhanced coaching could identify harmful usage patterns and counteract negative online experiences, such as bullying or misinformation, promoting a safer digital environment.
- What if workplaces universally adopt digital well-being coaching? Coaches could support leaders in initiatives to nurture new social norms and regulations emphasizing ‘the right to disconnect’.
Resources to Explore
- Wisdom Weaver Anastasia Dedyukhina details how to live a more consciously digital life
- Wisdom Weaver Amy Blankson describes strategies for digital wellness
- Explore a collection of co-created digital well-being experiments by Google
- Incorporate digital coaching as part of the solution for digital well-being
