Instrumentation & Measurement Magazine 24-6 - 44

lifegraduation
after
Vincenzo Marletta
Well-being: Tech, Yes or No?
T
he pandemic due to COVID-19 has changed and, in
some cases, upset our habits and daily routines and
unhinged some strict rules, as an example, that of being
physically present in the workplace.
Among the many consequences of this emergency, today
there is much discussion about the impact it has had on people's
well-being and the role that technology is playing [1],
[2]. The isolation to which we have been forced to resort, the
consequent interruption of all social activities, and the lack
of human contact with relatives and friends has and will certainly
have strong repercussions on our mental, cognitive, and
psychological health. I think this is beyond any doubt, just
think of the diffidence we have now in approaching others.
Recent studies have clearly evidenced an increased risk of
loneliness [3], [4]. And, if it is a problem not to be overlooked
for the youngest and for those who still have strong resilience
and can react, let us imagine what this can mean for the weakest
people in our society.
Opinions on the role of technology, on the benefits that
can be derived from it, and on the side-effects are diverse and
widely debated. Whether we like it or not, technology has now
set foot in every aspect of our lives, and technological innovation
is allowing us to overcome some difficult challenges that
we faced until now, such as the measurement of quantities useful
to estimate personal well-being. Furthermore, technologies
for health, well-being, and wellness are giving life to a new
economy and new markets with billions of investments in new
startups [5].
From my point of view, technology can benefit people by
providing great support for improving the quality of life and
well-being. And this is the direction in which we must move.
The improvement of the quality of life of weak and impaired
people, of hospitalized people, of workers in the workplaces,
anything that benefits the support of caregivers, should always
represent the leitmotiv of our research activities in this
field.
However, we must never forget that technology can ever
replace the affection, empathy, and feelings that a person can
transmit to others. It can never replace human beings.
The technology must serve as a support to vulnerable
people and to those who assist them, but it cannot and
must not replace them. Therefore, technology is often not
44
accepted. Sometimes the support offered by technology even
generates an opposite sense of loneliness and abandonment.
These situations, in my opinion, mark a failure of the technology
and draw a boundary within which technology, at
least the current one, can move. The problem, therefore, lies
in the way in which we use it, we conceive it and the role we
assign to it.
Technology to support mental well-being and its effects
is discussed in the column entitled " Using Technology to Improve
Mental Health & Wellbeing " published in The Journal of
mHealth in November 2020 [6].
The demand for new technological solutions will
increase more and more, this is undeniable, and I have perceived
it clearly. I could almost feel it with my hands during
a meeting about the Aging, including challenges and opportunities
for tomorrow's society, organized by the Italian
National Union of Institutions and Social Assistance Initiatives
(UNEBA) and held in Rimini, Italy in 2019 [7]. I was
invited to talk about our research activities and projects in
the field of Ambient Assisted Living [8] and to show, apart
from the competencies we have gained, more generally, the
support the research could provide and what the future
trends are.
There was great interest and request for technology by
owners of nursing homes and workers in the field of health
care who have real needs and face real daily problems. Not all,
of course, are prone to participate in research projects, and in
most cases, they are interested only in products available on
the market. However, I think that it can be useful to showcase
to them the potentiality of the research projects to address, in a
targeted manner, their specific needs.
Real problems can have real answers with novel technological
solutions. The interest is already present, the technology
is sufficiently mature to face them, and the intelligence is also
available. I mean that there are a lot of skilled people who like
to work on these topics, and what I have observed in the last
years is interest from younger researchers in the application of
technology in daily life to face real needs and support people
who are less independent.
It is a fervent growing field that in my opinion will explode
in the next several years, thanks to the new technological developments
in all fields of electronics, computer science,
IEEE Instrumentation & Measurement Magazine
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September 2021
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