Entertainment for well-being: Why leisure will shape the future of digital in humanitarianism
Digital interventions have typically focused on utilitarian goals. Our research suggests this approach misses the manifold benefits of digital leisure.
By Jenny Casswell and John Warnes
For a number of years, digital interventions focusing on forcibly displaced populations have been tied to specific developmental goals, such as enhanced education, or access to healthcare, financial services, and improved livelihoods, among others. But emerging evidence challenges the notion that the people addressed through such interventions prioritise connectivity for these purposes.
A new research workstream pursued by UNHCR Innovation Service joins other efforts to position leisure and entertainment as not only a key driver for the adoption of digital technologies, but also as a critical use case for such technologies that bring benefits beyond the ‘virtuous’ aims of humanitarian programming. These benefits range from psychosocial well-being to community resilience. You can read more about the digital leisure concept and the background to this workstream here.
Today, the Innovation Service and Erasmus University Rotterdam launch a new report on digital leisure, which builds on an initial desk review to reach practical insights through engaging with communities.
Read The Digital Leisure Divide — Part 2: Field Research here.
In this report, we seek to examine the factors linked to the adoption and use of digital technology by forcibly displaced people through field research undertaken in Boa Vista, Brazil, focusing on leisure factors that have — until now — only been superficially examined. This report, building on the work of the Digital Leisure Divide — Part 1, has similarly been undertaken in partnership with Erasmus University Rotterdam.
What do we mean by digital leisure?
Digital leisure has been established as a central aspect in the digital lives of individuals around the world. Displaced populations should not be different.
Our report proposes a typology of digital leisure activities, including entertainment, gaming, sex/sexuality/intimacy, content creation, social capital, community voice, and contemporary livelihoods. Examples of the ways in which technology is used for leisure activities include but are not limited to the following:
• One-to-one and group messaging.
• Sharing of photos, videos and music.
• Accessing social media.
• Online gaming.
• Consumption of audio-visual content.
• Dating and romance.
• Shopping.
Why is digital leisure important for refugees?
The ways in which forcibly displaced people engage with digital spaces offer important insights into the adoption and use of new technologies, as well as the possibilities of digital leisure for sustainable livelihoods and enhanced wellbeing for people living in forced displacement contexts.
Evidence from Erasmus University Rotterdam’s research and broader literature demonstrates that the use of digital technologies for leisure activities benefits forcibly displaced people in various ways, helping them:
- Express aspirations.
• Convey desires and goals.
• Connect with their family and support networks.
• Feel a sense of companionship.
• Reduce mental health issues such as depression, loneliness, and isolation.
• Negotiate platform guidelines and privacy.
• Explore sexuality and sexual identity.
• Generate potential livelihood opportunities.
Evidence from global refugee contexts
There is an expanding evidence base supporting the prevalence and importance of digital leisure among people who are experiencing forced displacement in different global contexts. This is reflected by data that suggests that some of the most popular uses of technology for forcibly displaced people — as for many other people around the world — involve leisure activities.
For example, research conducted by GSMA and UNHCR in 2019 found that 65% of active mobile internet users in Uganda’s Bidi Bidi refugee settlement used mobile internet for entertainment. Likewise, in Rwanda’s Kiziba refugee camp, 60% of mobile internet users were using their connectivity for entertainment purposes.
Further research shows that refugees in Jordan, Zambia, Colombia, and Greece engage in entertainment activities such as watching sports and cooking shows; listening to music; locating friends; shopping for technology and household goods; accessing news; and finding a partner for marriage. Of all preferred phone functions, the camera came out on top. Meanwhile, a 2021 report by UNHCR found that refugees in Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, and Niger reported engaging in entertainment activities including using social media, accessing news, playing games, listening to music, and watching videos.
Interestingly, GSMA and UNHCR research also found that digital leisure plays an important role in building the digital skills of mobile phone users. Participants reported finding that the more time they spent using mobile phones, the more well-versed and comfortable they became navigating these digital worlds.
Digital leisure as a pathway to well-being
Erasmus University Rotterdam’s fieldwork suggests that music benefits refugees in different ways, including via distraction and stress management. Music is a key part of refugees’ connection to their culture, and — due to the low data and low memory requirements — it is accessible to most.
Hugo, a 19-year-old man living in Brazil, describes his use of the phone to improve his well-being and manage his stress:
“I use the phone daily, it’s something I use to de-stress. […] I am always listening to music everywhere.”
In Nyarugusu refugee camp, Tanzania, GSMA research found that phones and memory cards preloaded with music and movies could be purchased in the camp. One phone user, a Congalese woman, explained:
“Many people buy phones to enjoy it even without airtime, enjoying the music or games on it. The reason is because people have experienced many difficulties and trouble before they came to the camp, and so a phone and memory card full of music and entertainment can help to entertain him or her, and help to relax and forget the trouble from the past.”
Furthermore, in joint GSMA and UNHCR research conducted in northern Lebanon and in Bor, South Sudan, forcibly displaced people reported that using their phones for social interaction and entertainment had a positive impact on their well-being — helping them feel more connected, worry less about family in other places, overcome discontent, and feel relaxed, motivated, inspired, and restful.
Bonding and education through gaming
Several respondents mentioned using connectivity for online gaming, something UNHCR is exploring further in a dedicated project supported through our Digital Innovation Fund. While gaming activity often reflects traditional gender roles, with men participating more than women, respondents also suggested it plays an important role in family bonding.
One woman said:
“But my children and my husband do. They play together. My husband seems to have been born on the internet, he loves games.”
Digital games are also important for long-distance bonding among family members and friends:
“[I play] with my brother who is in Venezuela. We play FIFA together, with me here in Brazil and him in Venezuela. I also play Free Fire with them.”
Furthermore, some parents use digital games to support their children’s learning:
“I would also play educational games with them [my daughters].”
Aspirations for improved livelihoods
In addition to using digital technology for entertainment and relaxation, participants’ aspirations for digital leisure are also often linked to livelihood opportunities — including entrepreneurship and learning.
A Venezuelan refugee in Brazil explains what she would do if she had infinite amounts of data:
“There are many apps that help you earn money. With time to spare, I think I would look for one of those apps to make money on the phone. […] with an application called Kwai. You watch videos and the application gives you a percentage. When you reach 100 you get R$1. My brother has done it. Then it converts to dollars and you have to wait for more points.”
(Kwai is a video sharing app similar to TikTok, enabling people to make money by watching videos, performing daily challenges prompted within the platform, or inviting people to the platform with a unique invitation code.)
These examples demonstrate the value gained from digital technologies when people are able to use them to advance their desires and rights.
Our takeaways
The new report details a number of case studies, with use profiles created based on interviews with research participants. These findings have generated a number of useful takeaways, which are relevant for UNHCR and for any organization pursuing digital interventions in forced displacement settings.
These key takeaways include:
1. We’re on the right track
Some recommendations emerging from this research reaffirm many of the perspectives and approaches currently being implemented by UNHCR. For example, the report emphasizes the importance of a participatory and community-led approach. This move away from, or cautious approach to, top-down interventions is applicable beyond the topic of digital leisure and entertainment.
The findings also highlight the importance of equitable access to connectivity and of taking users’ specific needs relating to devices, skills, and so on into account. UNHCR has sought to build these considerations into a number of innovative initiatives.
2. There’s so much more to learn
This latest report includes a number of new recommendations that build off some of the more surprising findings. For instance, the report emphasizes the importance of culture and the role of digital technology in championing cultural identity and traditions, including concepts of cultural preservation. Such ideas are relatively nascent in the scope of digital community interventions.
It also digs into intricate details around phone lending dynamics that highlight the need to better understand concepts of shared device ownership in the design and delivery of digital interventions.
What’s next?
These research findings have contributed to the framing and implementation of UNHCR’s forthcoming Digital Transformation Strategy, specifically the Priority Outcome Area of Digital Inclusion — which notably mentions leisure in its overarching vision statement.
The Innovation Service will now explore ways to move from research to experimentation and the development of pilot projects on digital leisure topics through its Digital Innovation Fund.
Stay tuned for more on those in the months to come!
