By Khushika Reddy

Background

Digital Wellbeing is a collection of smartphone features designed to help users understand, monitor, and manage their digital habits. Instead of simply tracking device usage, it encourages users to build healthier relationships with technology by providing visibility into screen time, reducing distractions, and enabling intentional phone usage.

It is based on the idea that smartphones should improve users' lives without becoming a constant source of distraction.

As smartphones became central to communication, entertainment, education, and work, users began spending significantly more time on their devices. Excessive smartphone usage can lead to:

• Reduced productivity
• Frequent distractions from notifications
• Difficulty concentrating
• Poor sleep quality
• Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)
• Unhealthy digital habits among teenagers and children

Google introduced Digital Wellbeing to help users become more aware of their phone usage and provide tools that encourage healthier digital behaviour rather than forcing complete disconnection.

Before adopting Google's Digital Wellbeing experience, Vivo's Funtouch OS already included its own usage analytics through Jovi, which allowed users to monitor their smartphone behavior.

Jovi could track metrics such as:

• Number of phone pickups
• Average viewing duration
• Longest continuous usage
• First phone pickup of the day
• Last phone usage before sleep
• Longest phone idle period