Digital well-being of Ukrainians experiencing full-scale war: A cross-sectional study

While the rapid digital transformation in Ukraine allows the development of numerous online services, the focus on digital well-being to preserve citizens’ health and life due to the excessive exposition of numerous tragic events in digital space stays mostly uncovered. The purpose of the work was to measure the significant peculiarities of digital well-being manifestation among different sections of sociodemographic characteristics, healthy lifestyle outlook, and wartime experiences of Ukrainians. An online survey and non-parametric analysis of variance were conducted, with a sample of 6,042 cases. The study revealed that younger respondents, women, and those involved in humanitarian and educational spheres demonstrated higher sensitivity to digital boundaries and emotional saturation of online content. Individuals who experienced forced migration or lived under occupation reported lower indicators of overall digital well-being, particularly in the domains of focus and purpose. Conversely, those engaged in health-related and volunteer activities exhibited higher levels of digital purpose and meaningful connection, highlighting the protective effect of active civic engagement during the war. The results suggested that targeted support for vulnerable groups and integration of digital hygiene into public health policy are crucial for fostering resilience in the digital space. The features of the manifestation of digital well-being components (overall well-being, boundary, communication, focus, connection, purpose) were configurated according to the following parameters: socio-demographic indicators (gender, age, education level, employment field, residence, living conditions, income level); attitudes towards healthy lifestyle (stage of greatest difficulty, combination of practices, degree of adherence); specific experiences during a full-scale invasion (forced migration, combat experience, providing medical care, human rights activities, living under occupation, experiencing shelling, experiencing flooding). The practical value of the study is seen in the perspective of developing a digital well-being promotion strategy on a national level