South Africa’s digital transformation is delivering substantial benefits for citizens and businesses, but the country needs to address two key obstacles – excessive connectivity and digital overload – to ensure digital adoption continues to enhance citizens’ wellbeing.
This is one of the key findings of the Bureau of Market Research's (BMR’s) inaugural “State of Digital Wellness in South Africa: National Benchmark Study and South African Digital Wellness Index”.
The research firm’s national study, conducted among 720 adult South Africans (aged 18 and older) across all nine provinces, was designed as a multidimensional benchmark to track the country’s digital wellbeing by measuring digital wellness across eight key dimensions.
These include digital access and use, digital habits, mental and physical wellbeing, work-life balance, digital literacy, online safety, parent-child communication and awareness, and digital wellness support.
The study rates SA at an overall Digital Wellness Index score of 69 out of 100, placing the country in the category of "good digital wellness"; however, increasing digital connectivity is accompanied by growing concerns about digital habits, mental wellbeing, work-life balance and online safety.
The index reveals that digital technologies have become deeply embedded in everyday life, with smartphones serving as the primary gateway to communication, education, banking, entertainment and economic participation.
More than 93% of respondents believe digital technologies have improved their daily lives, while access to information, learning opportunities, communication, flexibility and financial services emerged as the most significant benefits of digital adoption.
While this reflects a society that is benefiting significantly from digital technologies, its citizens are simultaneously contending with challenges associated with hyper-connectivity – being continuously connected to digital devices, the internet or online communications to the point where it becomes difficult to disconnect.
"Digital technologies have fundamentally transformed the way South Africans live, work, learn, communicate and participate in society,” notes professor Deon Tustin, CEO of the Bureau of Market Research and author of the report.
“While these technologies create unprecedented opportunities for inclusion and development, they also require citizens, families, organisations and policymakers to pay greater attention to digital wellbeing. This study provides a baseline understanding of how South Africans are navigating the opportunities and challenges of the digital age."
Smartphones dominate
The report paints a picture of a mobile-first digital economy, with smartphones firmly established as the country's dominant digital device.
It notes that 96% of South Africans have access to smartphones, which are a powerful driver of economic development, business, innovation and access to opportunities.
According to the report, 77.8% use smartphones for learning, 75.9% for banking, 57.6% for online shopping and 53.1% for work-related activities.
"The smartphone has become South Africa's most important digital device. For many citizens, it is no longer simply a communication tool; it is a gateway to education, employment opportunities, banking services, information, entrepreneurship and social participation. Digital access has become a critical enabler of inclusion and opportunity," Tustin explains.
Some 82.1% of respondents believe digital technology has improved their economic opportunities.
Nine in 10 respondents also reported that digital technologies have had a strong or very strong impact on learning, productivity, communication and access to services.
Always-on behaviour
While the report highlights the positive impact of digital technologies, it also points to growing concerns about excessive digital engagement.
A large number of citizens are also struggling with negative effects that arise from digital overload – to the point that it may affect their overall wellbeing and daily functioning, the report notes.
According to the research, 73.7% of respondents said they spend more time online than they intend to. Almost 60% spend between three and six hours daily on their smartphones, while 29.4% spend more than seven hours per day using the devices.
The study also found that digital multitasking is widespread and many South Africans reported frequent work-related interruptions during personal time and continue using digital devices late into the evening.
This growing dependence is contributing to rising levels of digital overwhelm, reinforcing concerns that excessive connectivity and digital overload are becoming unintended consequences of the country's accelerating digital transformation.
The consequences are becoming increasingly apparent, the study states. Nearly three-quarters (74.5%) of respondents reported experiencing digital overwhelm at least sometimes, while 79.1% said they feel pressure to remain digitally available.
The study further found that almost two-thirds (64.1%) have experienced at least one physical or psychological symptom associated with excessive digital technology use, including eye strain, sleep problems, headaches, difficulty concentrating, stress and anxiety.
"The emergence of an always-on culture is one of the defining challenges of the digital era. While digital technologies improve productivity and flexibility, they can also erode personal boundaries if organisations do not actively support healthy work-life integration," comments Tustin.
“Digital wellness is therefore not about reducing technology use, but rather about achieving balance and being intentional in how technology is used."
Mobile banking revolution
Financial services have emerged as one of the country's strongest examples of digital transformation, the report states.
It found that three-quarters (75.9%) of respondents now use smartphones for banking, underscoring the growing role of mobile devices in expanding access to financial services and supporting financial inclusion.
The findings suggest mobile banking has become a cornerstone of SA’s digital economy, enabling citizens to participate more fully in financial services regardless of location.
However, the report cautions that greater digital participation also exposes users to increased cyber risks.
Financial scams and extortion were experienced by 39.2% of respondents, making them the most common form of online exploitation. Almost one-quarter (23.7%) reported being tricked into sharing personal information through phishing attacks, while 15.8% experienced unauthorised access to bank accounts.
Emerging artificial intelligence-enabled threats are also becoming more prevalent, with 13% of respondents reporting deepfake misuse involving manipulated images, audio or video.
Reflecting on the country's overall Digital Wellness Index score, Tustin points out the next phase of SA’s digital journey should focus on improving the quality of digital engagement rather than simply expanding access.
"A score of 69 out of 100 suggests that South Africa is deriving considerable value from digital technologies, but there remains substantial room for improvement. The findings indicate the future challenge is not increasing digital access alone, but ensuring digital engagement contributes positively to wellbeing, productivity and social development," he concludes.
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