DigitalBarometer 2025: Between digital balance and concerns about social cohesion
Digitalization is having a profound impact on our everyday lives and is acting as a catalyst for innovation, networking and social change. However, the sixth DigitalBarometer, which focuses on the topic of "Mental health and the digital world", also shows that the Swiss population sees risks to mental health, social cohesion and digital sovereignty.
The sixth DigitalBarometer was published on May 21, 2025. This year's study was once again initiated and implemented by the Risk Dialogue Foundation and supported by the Mobiliar Cooperative. It is a representative study for Switzerland with differentiated analyses of various areas of digitalization. The annual survey highlights changes in the debate and social dynamics. This year's edition sees a strong desire for digital balance, but also identifies a growing concern about social cohesion.
Digital Switzerland: top in infrastructure, flop in digital inclusion
The population sees Switzerland's greatest strengths in the context of digitalization in the digital infrastructure (54%), the research landscape (49%) and the innovative strength of the economy (43%). At the same time, the results clearly show where the Swiss population sees the greatest deficits in digital development: Dealing with people who are unable to keep pace with digitalization is the biggest perceived weakness, with 58% of mentions. This finding has not changed since the first measurement by the DigitalBarometer 2019. The lack of political commitment to digitalization (45%) and Switzerland's lack of digital independence (43%) are also viewed critically.
Mental health: Switzerland struggles for digital balance
The majority of the Swiss population rates digital applications positively for their well-being - especially organizational and learning apps (67%), health apps (64%) and messenger apps (62%). Games are also widely accepted: a third of the Swiss population plays games every day, regardless of gender, age and education. Almost half (49%) also perceive the influence of games on their own well-being as explicitly positive. Respondents are more critical of social platforms such as Instagram and TikTok: 39% see them as a burden on their well-being, while only 31% see them as beneficial. There is also a strong desire for digital balance among the population: eight out of ten people support corresponding measures in the school context (81%) or the establishment of targeted offline spaces (78%).
Strong perception of risk with simultaneous potential for local engagement
Two thirds of the Swiss population (66%) believe that social cohesion is at risk in the context of the digital transformation. Manipulation and disinformation in particular are perceived as a major risk by 78TP3T. Around half are also concerned about a lack of social interaction and declining solidarity (51%) as well as increasing polarization and division (45%). More modern, more transparent administration (76%) and new access to education (65%) are seen as the main opportunities for strengthening cohesion. 51% of respondents also attach particular importance to local engagement in the context of digitalization. "I am particularly pleased with this finding," says Daniela Ramp, project manager at Risiko-Dialog. "It shows that the population sees the potential of digitalization for low-threshold and flexible social engagement as an opportunity to strengthen social cohesion."
Where robots are welcome and where they are not
The Swiss population has clear knowledge gaps in the area of artificial intelligence: 52% state that they know little or nothing about it. The acceptance of robots depends heavily on their area of application: while surgical robots in surgery with 59% or driving robots in public transport with 46% enjoy a rather high level of acceptance, patrol robots in public spaces with 30% or robots as team members with 26% are less accepted, for example. Anna-Lena Köng, project manager at Risiko-Dialog, explains this as follows: "These differences indicate that people trust robots for technical tasks, but react hesitantly in social interactions and in safety-critical areas".
Conclusion: Digitalization requires a dialogue of values and foresight
Project managers Daniela Ramp and Anna-Lena Köng draw the following conclusion from this year's DigitalBarometer: "In future, we as a society will have to deal more closely with weighing up the social, economic and ecological opportunities and risks of the digital transformation. Fundamental values such as freedom, security, equality and sustainability must be discussed and reconciled, and we must learn to deal with uncertainties. The results of the DigitalBarometer 2025 make it clear that an open, inclusive dialog on values such as freedom, security, sustainability and equality is needed in order to shape the digital transformation responsibly.
Source: Risk Dialogue Foundation
This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/digitalbarometer-2025-zwischen-digitaler-balance-und-sorge-um-gesellschaftlichen-zusammenhalt/
