Life satisfaction and the twin green and digital change: evidence for Europe

Both the European economy and society are undergoing unprecedented changes driven by digitalization and environmental challenges. In this context, it is highly relevant to understand how they are related and how both affect individuals’ well-being to avoid misperceptions. Nevertheless, the combined effects of digitalization and environmental concern on individuals’ well-being has received little attention so far, despite growing interest, particularly from European institutions such as the European Commission. This article unravels the relationship between internet use, climate change awareness and life satisfaction in Europe. Using microdata from Rounds 8 and 10 of the European Social Survey (ESS), covering 21 European countries, we estimate a three-equation simultaneous model that accounts for the reciprocal relationship between internet use and climate change concern, and their respective impacts on life satisfaction. Results show using the internet daily is positive and strongly associated with people’s climate change awareness, and positively related to life satisfaction. Furthermore, people with higher climate change concern report lower levels of life satisfaction.