Digital transition creating weaker labor conditions and wrecking social fabric, report says

A new report from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, dubbed the World Social Report 2025, has laid out the damage to labor conditions and the fabric of society being caused by the digital transition.

The report said that even in high-income countries, the digital transition was creating more job uncertainty and more gig work where workers get zero security or rights that typical employees get in many developed countries. Things they miss out on include paid sick leave, the minimum wage, and maternal or paternal leave - this leads to people running themselves ragged, just to make ends meet.

Commenting on this, the UN said:

"Even in high-income countries, rising job uncertainty, gig work and the digital transition are contributing to this trend. These jobs may offer flexibility but often come at the cost of security and rights – reducing workers to mere service providers in a commodified labor market."

The digital transition doesn’t stop there in the damage that it is causing. While more people worried and in precarious labor, the super-wealthy tech billionaires are failing to prevent misinformation and disinformation on social networks they own. They make more money, while wrecking the fabric of societies around the world.

The UN said that misinformation and disinformation, spreading on platforms like WhatsApp, are undermining trust in institutions and even among individuals. Thanks to algorithms used on social networks, people are being funneled into virtual, siloed echo chambers where they only see news and opinions that they agree with, with the potential to turn people into extremists. The UN said that these echo chambers are rewarding more extreme content and engagement with higher visibility.

On the point of trust in institutions, the report found that the public’s trust in government was at a low, with those born in the 21st century, the tech natives, distrusting even more. The UN warned that this raises concerns about civic disengagement (not voting etc) and political instability (US Capitol riots, wars etc).

In terms of person-to-person trust, the UN report found that it’s being eroded too with less than 30% of people, in countries with available data, believing that most others can be trusted. It said that this undermines social cohesion and complicates collective action efforts.

To combat these social ills, the UN recommends that governments promote equity through investment in education, healthcare, housing and robust social protection systems. It also called for more inclusive and accountable institutions, as well as power and wealth to become less concentrated at the very top of society.