In nature, plants, animals, climate and water are all interconnected systems in which changes to one part influence the whole. Today’s digital technologies operate in much the same way, forming a new kind of digital ecology where devices, social media platforms, artificial intelligence, regulation, and user behaviour continuously shape one another.
“Take social media, for example. It is not just an app; it shapes political debate, mental health, journalism, and even democracy. At the same time, user behaviour, regulation, and cultural norms shape how these platforms operate,” says Najmul Islam, professor of digital transformation at LUT School of Engineering.
Digital ecology frames the understanding of how digital technologies transform daily life in complex ways. While we now receive and generate information at unprecedented speed, the overall quality of that information often declines. These developments bring real challenges but also opportunities. Digital revolution is one of LUT's strategic focus areas.
“Because technology is part of so many sectors, it has enormous potential to also support sustainability. It can streamline processes, reduce waste and help modernise public services in more sustainable ways. And by making the technology itself more sustainable, we can create an even bigger impact,” says Jari Porras, professor of software engineering at LUT.
It’s not the devices anymore but the infrastructure behind them
According to Islam, as digital systems become more interconnected in our everyday lives, it has also become more difficult for users to understand their increased carbon footprint. A decade or two ago, attention centred primarily on devices, while today, large-scale infrastructures – cloud computing, blockchain networks, and AI processing – consume vast amounts of electricity and resources.
Porras notes that while a single device may not seem to consume much electricity, the services running behind it certainly do. Streaming platforms, administrative systems and other digital services run on energy-intensive data centres that require large amounts of water for cooling and significant land use that affects local biodiversity.
“Similarly, the devices we utilise rely on rare earth elements and often end up as e-waste, as recycling processes still do not recover materials very efficiently,” he adds.
Software is often built with speed rather than efficiency in mind, which means systems keep growing in size and end up requiring ever more powerful devices. Porras emphasises that every digital solution is examined through its impacts.
“Instead of endlessly increasing capacity and consumption, we need to go back to principles where software can run on less data and digital products do not require continually buying new hardware,” he states.
Digital systems have lifecycles very similar to physical products:
- Creation / manufacturing: In digital systems this means software development and infrastructure setup. Although software is intangible, development work still requires energy, hardware, and resources.
- Use: The operational phase, where energy consumption and data transfer create the bulk of emissions.
- End of life: In digital contexts, this typically means transitioning to another system rather than discarding something tangible. This transition must be handled carefully to avoid breaking essential service chains
Note: While software can be long lasting, devices age too, and sometimes software becomes obsolete before the hardware does, forcing premature upgrades. Both hardware and software must be considered when evaluating the lifecycle of digital systems.
Source: Jari Porras, LUT University’s Professor of Software Engineering
Finland is a great place to study the social effects of digitalisation
When digital technologies first enter society, people typically have the freedom to decide whether to adopt them. Some embrace the new tools immediately, while others respond in the opposite way, taking breaks from social media or even giving up on smartphones altogether. The choice is still ours, but in a conflicting and ever-accelerating technological environment, those decisions are becoming harder to make.
As technologies become embedded and eventually standardised, a new phase begins: opting out becomes increasingly difficult.
“Without the technologies, individuals would become marginalised in their social networks and lose access to social institutions. Their well-being would drop, their opportunities would dwindle, and they would lose important support systems. At this point, technology use becomes essential, and it homogenises society,” says Kathrin Komp-Leukkunen, professor in social sustainability and welfare policies at LUT School of Engineering.
Notably, while most European countries are still in the first phase, Finland has already moved into the second. This makes Finland a particularly interesting case for studying the social effects of digitalisation.
“The social scientists at LUT are very active in research related to digital technology. I myself study how workplace digitalisation affects retirement decisions. In the past, digital transitions often added pressure and pushed people into early retirement, but the situation is changing: when implemented well, technology can actually lighten the workload and help people stay in employment longer,” Komp-Leukkunen explains.
Designing sustainable digital systems for the future
Islam emphasises that the digital world is a part of the real world and that every digital action relies on real energy, materials, and infrastructure. This is why digital systems need to be designed and used responsibly.
According to Porras, individuals can contribute by extending the use of their current devices for even one year longer – particularly as device manufacturing is the most resource-intensive stage. Broader change requires regulatory structures that define responsibilities clearly.
“With standardised and transparent sustainability metrics, responsibility can be effectively shared among the producers, providers, infrastructure operators, and users, preventing any actor from shifting the burden to others,” he explains.
At the end of the day, however, even though people do use digital technologies, our personal needs and capabilities remain those of a human. If we continuously measure ourselves against the polished, unrealistic ideals technology presents, we run the risk of constantly feeling like we as persons fall short.
“We need to look after ourselves and each other as human beings, independent of how far digitalisation progresses. The concept of a digital ecology can show us in which areas we primarily connect to other humans and in which to digital technologies,” Komp-Leukkunen stresses.
More information:
Najmul Islam
