DIGI CITIZEN
Various online services are familiar for me. Over the past 15 years, services have been moving online at an accelerating pace. For example, in my youth I have been dealing with both Kela and the Tax Administration, but their services have long been focused on the internet. I remember how difficult it felt to fill out different kind of forms online at first. Previously, an employee of the office would do some of the work that the service user now does themselves. I am also very familiar with OmaKanta, also through my work. It is easy for me to trust the information security of the service, and I always use the online banking application on my phone to identify myself. In addition, I verify my identity with a biometric identifier.
In my work I do patient work and sometimes I also advise patients on the use of the OmaKanta service. Older people very often say that they have not used the service or even own a smartphone or a computer. However, many services in healthcare today rely on digital services and on electronic identification. Digital skills should also be taught to the elderly, as is done in schools for kids. Many elderly people may have a high threshold for applying to courses to learn completely new skills.
Nowadays, shopping is also most active online. Making purchases is very easy, even too easy. Visiting a sales website also causes aggressive targeting of advertisements. The use of money is easily blurred when shopping online. It is difficult for an ordinary consumer to determine the ethics of online stores, and assessing the reliability of a site can be very difficult. Many of my friends have used the grocery store’s online service. They think it saves the day and leaves time for other things. However, our family loves to shop at the grocery store. It’s also a great way to spend some time alone, and it’s great to read about new products in peace. Do people have to maximize all their time spending?
More and more digital and remote services are available also in healthcare. Even when the coronavirus pandemic began, it seemed absurd that a doctor’s appointment was done remotely. Now I have used the service of a chat doctor or nurse in many times. With a good smartphone camera you can send a picture of an inflamed eye to a doctor, for example. This is a real time and money saver! I predict that within five years digital services will be the dominant form of communication in some healthcare sectors, and at least the initial assessment of the need for treatment will be done remotely. The digi citizens can focus on using digital services, leaving traditional face-to-face appointments for the elderly and patients in need of treatment. The shortage of resources in the social and healthcare sectors will likely push people to use more digital services in the future. However, I wonder how the prices of services have been determined. Remote and face-to-face appointments likely take different amounts of money, but will customers still pay the same price for the services in the name of equality?
With these considerations, I became familiar with the Omaolo service (omaolo.fi). The site offers only researched and safe information. With Omaolo you can make an assessment of the need for treatment based on symptoms, for example, back pain or the flu. The application asks questions, based on which it forms an answer. If necessary, the service directs you to contact healthcare professionals in your own area. The service can also do a simple health check based on a simple survey. I was pleasantly surprised when the site also offered me health coaching. I tried How to reduce annoyance -coaching. The service says that the coaching is based on the Duodecim STAR Health Check and coaching. You have to identify yourself to the service. During the 16-week coaching I could learn how to accept adversity more easily, free myself from negative emotions, forgive, manage my emotions better, and let go of thoughts that burden my mind.
The service is based on reliable information, and its developers are healthcare professionals. The service focuses on prevention and early support. It has very low costs for both society and the individual. A very good service that I will use myself and recommend to my family. And the best part? You do not have to pay for it!
Even though taking care of things online has been made easy, sometimes I find it still hard to get something done quickly. It can be hard to motivate myself to do it. If I plan to do something on my phone, I often find myself browsing social media instead of doing the important thing first. In my opinion, society has become too digital. The human brain has not developed for the flood of information. Concentration weakens and social relationships can suffer due to phone use even from a young age. Social media and, for example, online shopping hit the pleasure canter of the brain perfectly. Limiting the time you spend with phone can feel like physical restlessness. Reduced human contact is poison and causes more discomfort in society. I admit that I am addicted to my phone, and I even sleep with it. When I think about it properly, it seems completely absurd. Digital services and social media are a good tool, but they should not be allowed to take on the role of boss in life.
I commented to:
DIGI CITIZEN | Leo’s Digitalised Working Environment
DIGI CITIZEN – Tiina Kokkonen
DIGI Citizen – Taina’s Digital Adventure
11 helmikuun, 2025 at 22:09
Hello Jenni,
Thank you for your article. I liked it because it has the thoughts which, probably, everyone has in their minds nowadays.
I feel the same as you about transition of authorities such as Kela and others to total digtal format. Now, you do not need to go out from home to fill in application or ask any question. It brought a lot of cool things because you can do everything whenever you want and no need to know about opening hours. Your main tools are computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone. Honestly saying, sometimes, I miss the times when you could go to the places and ask things personally. It is a communication, which we are lacking nowadays. Especially young generation, they type more than talk. It might be scary.
10 maaliskuun, 2025 at 10:20
Reading the blog, I found that we have very similar experiences and ideas about using digital applications. I myself work in the social and health care sector in therapy services. Although in the Covid era there was a move to distance sessions due to circumstances, today in our area client consultations are hardly implemented at all, mainly just for a few group sessions. In my experience, this is partly due to pricing – in-person sessions cost the same to the client as distance sessions, so clients prefer to opt for face-to-face therapy. Clients should continue to be able to choose whether they want distance or face-to-face consultations.
However, I hope that digitalisation will also bring other solutions that will make our work easier, because we will have to stay in work for quite a long time before we retire! 😊 Thank you for your great writings.
Best regards, Niina. And welcome to my blog: https://blogi.savonia.fi/niinaaimasmaki/
18 maaliskuun, 2025 at 12:04
Hello Jenni,
as someone who’s not Finnish is very informational to read about services like OmaKanta from someone who uses them frequently for work.
But the part of your post that really got me thinking was your self-reflection about digitalization and social media. I aknowledge that it is increasingly becoming an issue: i find myself a lot of time doom-scrolling on tiktok or just staring at my phone for hours. My girlfriend has even worse screen times than me. After Covid it has become increasingly difficult for introvert people like me to come back to the normality and living sociality in real life, but one step at a time I’m trying to do better.
The digitalisation and the smartphone are super powerful tools, and the more power the more risks involved with this increasingly haste in our daily lives.
Thanks you for sharing and making me reflect on this. Wish to you a slow-paced and happy life 🙂
10 huhtikuun, 2025 at 19:56
Hello Jenni, i read your blog post and i am agreeing with things you said. Digital services make life easier in some degree but it has downsides for example it disconnects you from real human. I believe real human connection and thinking is still needed no matter what. Technology might improve in future but we are still in that point that computer cannot do everything perfectly. That is why I think real human connection is still needed.
3 toukokuun, 2025 at 18:52
Hi Jenni!
I fully identify with your thoughts on digitalisation in today’s world. You are right that digital skills should also be taught to older people, but, as you said, there are many older people who feel that they are no longer willing or able to learn new things. It is important to maintain other options. It seems to have been somehow forgotten in this accelerating digitalisation.
I also agree that initiative has deteriorated in the current situation. I also tend to forget to browse social media ”quickly” before I start doing coursework, for example. Indeed, our brains are not built to handle the flood of information we receive every day through various media.
As a healthcare professional, I wish more people would learn to use services such as the Omaolo service, because I have noticed in nurses’ surgeries that people go there with ailments that would be easy to treat on their own, if only they would take the trouble to look for information. On the other hand, you also have to know how to look for information from reliable sources. The teaching of reliable sources starts in schools, but it would also be appropriate to teach it to people of all ages.
This is such an interesting topic that I could go on for however long. Thank you for sharing your thoughts
9 toukokuun, 2025 at 02:37
Hi Jenni, Thanks for sharing such an insightful and relatable post. I appreciate how you have reflected on the practical aspects of digital services and the emotional and societal impacts of our increasingly digital lives. Your point about the elderly being left behind by digitalisation really resonated with me. Digital inclusion is often overlooked in policy and service design. I also liked your honesty about the addictive side of smartphones and how they can interfere with our focus and social relationships. It is complex to balance the convenience of technology and the need to participate in human interactions. Fascinating read. Great work!
https://blogi.savonia.fi/andrefarley/digi-citizen/
3 kesäkuun, 2025 at 22:37
Thank you, Jenni, for your interesting blog post!
In your blog, you brought up some great points about the challenges elderly people face with online services. You wrote that older people need structured digital education, just like younger generations. Today, there are organizations that can teach elderly people about digitalization and how to use online services. But we probably don’t talk about these enough. It’s also true that not everyone knows about these services or finds them easy to access. It’s true that it’s not always easy for elderly people to learn new digital habits anymore, but for some, it might still be possible. Some may also feel unsure or unwilling to start learning about digitalization and new technologies.
I wasn’t familiar with the Omaolo service before. You explained its purpose very clearly and the app sounds reasonable and useful. I think it also helps healthcare workers save time, because the service gives a better idea of when it’s the right time to go to the hospital. I was surprised that the service can even offer coaching programs that last several weeks, like the ones you mentioned! Wow!
Here is the link to my blog: https://blogi.savonia.fi/maijukarkkainen/
Have a nice summer!
-Maiju
30 kesäkuun, 2025 at 15:14
Thank you Jenni for your interesting blog post. I am nurse in home care. I have many same thoughts that you bring forward on your post. I think that many older people are out of digitalization and need help to use digital servises. It last a long time when we are on time where all our citizens can use digital servises guite well. Until then we need to have personal services also.
Welcome to my blog: https://blogi.savonia.fi/jaanakristiinahenriksson
3 heinäkuun, 2025 at 14:17
I really appreciated how you highlighted the evolution of services like Kela, Tax Administration, and OmaKanta, not just as systems, but from the user’s perspective. Your memory of how difficult it once felt to fill in online forms really resonated—it’s something many of us forget now that we’ve become more fluent in digital environments. It’s also important that you pointed out how, in the past, a clerk used to do part of the work, but now responsibility often shifts to the user. That’s a subtle yet crucial change that can be stressful for people not comfortable with tech.
Your work in patient care and experience advising others—especially the elderly—on using OmaKanta also brings an important point forward: digital inclusion isn’t just about access, it’s about support and guidance. I absolutely agree with your comparison to digital education in schools; older generations deserve the same kind of encouragement and structured learning.
I was also really interested in your thoughts on online shopping and digital consumerism. You’re right, it’s not just about convenience, it also affects how we spend, how we’re advertised to, and even how we think about time and efficiency. The idea that not everything needs to be optimized—like grocery shopping being a peaceful moment—is a refreshing and often-overlooked perspective. All the best, Anna
23 heinäkuun, 2025 at 19:46
Hi Jenni!
I find your post very relatable. I also find social media harmful for human brain. The information is so massive. However, the digital development for healthcare is improving and can be extremely useful for the right audience. Especially the elderly really need human interaction.
Thank you for your post.
31 heinäkuun, 2025 at 13:06
Hi! I agree with you that digitalization has entered our lives very quickly over the last 15 years. It has brought with it a lot of good things that make everyday life easier. On the other hand, it has also become a time stealer.
-Enni