Humans are no strangers to innovation.
Ages are even defined by technological medium—from stone, to bronze, to industrial, and now, digital. Each period plays a role in shaping the next, with everything interconnected in a continuous cycle. But each breakthrough brings with it new challenges.
In this Digital Age, screens and smart tech have become incredible means of connection—portals to other places, people, and emotions—but our relationship with our devices is complex, and sometimes fraught. At Google, we’re working to examine and evolve this balance through the concept of digital wellbeing, so that technology can improve peoples’ lives, not distract from them. This mission is carried out by product teams that include user experience (UX) practitioners and AI researchers. With a focus on human-tech interactions, these practitioners wrestle with the paradox of technology every day. Yet even the savviest design solution can lay bare another issue—and this aha / uh-oh cycle forms the iterative process that’s now the cornerstone of thoughtful, quality design.
Here, three UX practitioners discuss their work at the forefront of digital wellbeing, exploring how a digital ecosystem, or digisphere, that’s developed with empathy has the power to change our future for the better.

The rise of screen time
Sara Lunder, Senior Interaction Designer: A few years ago at I/O, Sundar [Pichai, Alphabet CEO] announced a commitment to digital wellbeing as a company-wide effort to help people balance their technology use in a way that feels right for them. To do this, we needed to understand the impacts of tech in specific and measurable ways—and we made a real breakthrough when we identified “screen time” as a measure of digital wellbeing. We found that reducing exposure to digital screens alleviated anxiety in many cases, and freed up time for other enjoyable activities. It helped people consider their relationship with tech, and it was particularly useful for kids and families, who spent more time than they’d like arguing about screen time.
One solution to assist people in cutting down their usage was to display total screen time data. This made sense from an awareness perspective—research shows that people are most likely to improve their habits when they know about them. But we soon found that this approach had major trade-offs. When COVID-19 hit, our routines changed. Spending more time at home than ever, people were separated from loved ones and compensated for those quality moments by chatting with them online. Tech was bringing people closer, reinforcing the feeling of connectedness—but reminders of their mounting screen time left them feeling ashamed, confused, and generally annoyed.
Our aha led us to another uh-oh. We saw clearly why screen time alone is not representative of digital wellbeing. To make it truly useful, data must be shown in relation to the context in which a device is being used.
Read full article here.