Digital Versus Handwritten Journaling
For my psychology MSc dissertation, I chose a research topic I’d been curious about for years: does the format we use for journaling affect the way we journal? Are there differences between journaling using pen and paper versus using digital journaling tools that extend beyond personal preference? This is a big, multi-faceted question and, for this study, I decided to focus on one particular aspect of it, which related to how the format influences our experience of journaling for emotional well-being.
Part of what motivated this line of inquiry is that, especially since the pandemic, more and more interventions and tools are moving into the digital realm. This has obvious benefits, not least increased accessibility, which in turn can lead to higher engagement and compliance. At the same time, I was surprised to find little to no research investigating how this shift from physical to digital might impact the effectiveness, starting with how people actually experience these kinds of tools.
I conducted a qualitative study, interviewing 16 people who have used both analogue and digital journaling tools on their experience of each. If you’re also interested in this topic, you can find links to the full research paper and a plain-English summary below:
→ How Digital Journaling Influences Emotional Wellbeing Compared to Analogue Journaling (link to ResearchGate)