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Season 2, episode 3

Our wellbeing is essential to our overall quality of life. But what is wellbeing? Why is it so hard to pin down? How is it different from mental health, and what can we do to understand, measure and improve it? 

In this episode of Mind Over Chatter, we talked with psychologist and neuroscientist Dr Amy Orben, who examines how digital technologies affect adolescent psychological well-being and mental health, psychiatrist Professor Tamsin Ford, who specialises in children's mental health, and welfare economist Dr Mark Fabian, whose research focuses on how policymakers and citizens understand well-being.  

In doing so, we learnt about the negative (and positive!) effects of the pandemic, how wellbeing differs for children and adults, and the influence of ever-evolving technology on our wellbeing. 

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Key points

03:00 - What's the difference between well being and mental health?

06:30 - Wellbeing and economics. How do we think about wellbeing outside of psychology? 

15:01 - We’ve reached the recap point

19:04 - Can wellbeing be factored into factors that measure societal progress, like productivity GDP?  

35:35 - How do we react to technological change as a society? The debate around screen time. 

37:20 - Time for another recap! 

50:05 - How is this new thinking about well being going to shape our lives in the future?For individuals and for governments and policymakers?