Public Policy

February 2023

Introducing theDigital Well-Being Index
At Snap, nothing is more important than the safety
and well-being of our Snapchat community. We havein place, and consistently enforce, policies and rulesthat detail the type of content and behavior that areacceptable on Snapchat. We o er tools and resources
to help Snapchatters stay safe, and we engage withothers in industry and across the tech ecosystem tobetter protect teens and younger users in particular.
To o er insight into how teens and young adults arefaring online, particularly following the COVID-19
global pandemic, in 2022, we conducted research
into Generation Z’s digital well-being. The study,
which draws upon more than four decades ofsubjective well-being research, was adapted for theonline environment to produce a Digital Well-Being
Index (DWBI), a measure of Gen Z’s psychologicalwell-being online.
We surveyed teens (aged 13-17), young adults (aged18-24) and parents of teens, aged 13 to 19 in six
countries: Australia, France, Germany, India, UK and
the U.S. We asked respondents about their exposure tovarious online risks and, from those results and otherattitudinal responses, devised a DWBI for each country
and a combined reading across all six. The research wasconducted between April 22, 2022, and May 10, 2022.

DWBI Readings for 2022
The irst Digital Well-Being Index for the six geographies
stands at 62, a somewhat average reading on a scale of
0 to 100 – neither particularly favorable, nor especiallyworrisome. By country, India scored the highest DWBI
reading at 68, and France and Germany came in below
the six-country average, each at 60. Australia’s DWBI is63; the UK matched the six-country reading at 62, andthe U.S. came in at 64.
The index leverages the PERNA model, a variation on an
existing research vehicle, comprising 20 sentimentstatements across ive categories: Positive Emotion,Engagement, Relationships, Negative Emotion andAchievement. Respondents were asked to state theirlevel of agreement with each of the 20 statements,
taking into account all of their online experiences onany device over the preceding three months. An
example statement in each of the ive categories follows.
For a full inventory of all 20 statements, see this link.

Role of Social MediaA DWBI score was calculated for each respondent basedon the 20 sentiment statements. Their scores wereaggregated into four DWBI groups: Flourishing (10%);
Thriving (43%), Middling (40%) and Struggling (7%).
(See next page for details.)

Index Category

Sample Sentiment Statement

Positive Emotion

Often felt delightedEngagement

Got completely absorbed in what I was doing online

Relationships

Have people in my life online who really care about me

Negative Emotion

Worried about what other people might be saying about me online

Achievement

Was able to grow in my skills and abilities

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Public Policy

February 2023

DWBI Group Sizes & Score Ranges
1009010%
Thriving, 62-77

8070
DWBI Score

DWB Group

Flourishing, 78-100

43%Middling, 45-61

60

Flourishing(Very high)Extremely positive – rate
everything at the top end of
the scale

Thriving(High)

Average top two box across thedimensions; may not be top box
on everything but experiences
overall are very positive

Middling(Medium)“Mid-range” in their evaluations.
Mix of favorable and unfavorable
ratings; everything’s not rosyStruggling(Low)

Rate all dimensions on the low
end of the scale (1-3 range);consistently encounter negative
experiences and outcomes

40%50

Description

4030

Struggling, 0-44
7%

20
10
030%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Percent Gen Z, 13-24
Base: Gen Z, N=6002

Q5. Which, if any, of the following have happened to you personally ONLINE, on any electronic device during the past three months? Select all that apply

Not surprisingly, the research showed that social media plays a major role in Gen Z’s digital well-being, with morethan three-quarters (78%) of respondents saying social media had a positive in luence on the quality of their lives.
That belief was even stronger among teens (84%) and males (81%) compared to Gen Z young adults (71%) andfemales (75%). Parents’ opinion (73%) about social media’s in luence slightly outpaced that of Gen Z adults.
Those Flourishing saw social media as a positive in luence in their lives (95%), while those found to be Struggling
said it was less so (43%). More than a third (36%) of those Flourishing agreed with the statement, “I cannot live mylife without social media,” while only 18% of those determined to be Struggling agreed with it. Those percentages
were e ectively lipped with respect to the inverse statement, “The world would be a better place without socialmedia.” (Flourishing: 22%, Struggling: 33%).

Other Key Results
Our digital well-being research yielded
other interesting indings. Below are somehighlights. The full report can be viewed here.
•••

Parents are largely in tune with their teens’ digital well-being.
In fact, teens whose parents regularly checked in on their online
and social media activities had higher digital well-being andretained higher levels of trust from their parents. Conversely,
the subset of parents who did not regularly check in about
teens’ digital experiences signi icantly underestimated teens’risk exposure (by nearly 20 points).

•Not surprisingly, Gen Zers with vaster support networks are
more likely to be Flourishing or Thriving online, and those withfewer support assets were more likely to be Struggling orMiddling. Support assets were de ined broadly as people in theyoung person’s life – parents, caregivers, teachers, other trustedadults or friends – who care about them, listen to them orbelieve they will be a success.

Digital well-being is more dependent on thenature and quality of online interactions andless dependent on how much time is spent
on social media.
Personally targeted risks (e.g., bullying,sexual risks) exhibit a strong relationship todigital well-being, while “normalized” risks(e.g., impersonation, misinformation) have aweak relationship.

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