When Digital Plenty Becomes a Drain on Productivity

Mar 28 , 2026
By Birhanu Beshah (PhD)

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Economics has long been organised around scarcity. But when digital technology pushes life in a different direction, toward abundance, and Internet access comes at marginal or near-zero cost, while digital content appears in virtually limitless supply, much of it free, the resources are no longer diminished with use. They multiply. The shift has eased old constraints and improved productivity, with tools like Google Search and generative artificial intelligence creating broad social and economic value, Writes Birhanu Beshah (PhD) - bir-hanu.beshah@aait.edu.et - is an associate professor in the School of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering of Addis Abeba University (AAU).

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Digital abundance has brought clear gains, but it also carries costs. One of the most visible is excessive digital consumption, which is becoming a growing concern at the personal, family and societal levels.

Economics has long been built on the idea of scarcity, where limited resources are set against unlimited human wants. Digital technology is now forcing a rethink. In many parts of modern life, abundance is replacing scarcity. Some resources do not diminish with use. They multiply. That may sound counterintuitive, but it is increasingly true in the digital age.

In practical terms, this abundance appears in widespread Internet access at marginal or near-zero cost and in a virtually limitless supply of digital content, much of it available for free. This shift has delivered large benefits. It has eased old constraints and improved productivity. Platforms such as Google Search and generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools have created momentous social and economic value.

Yet abundance does not come without side effects. The steady rise in digital consumption has become harder to ignore. Questions about its effect on healthy living are increasingly contested, but the concern is real. The problem is not technology itself, but how easily abundance can turn into distraction and dependency.

From personal experience, social media use is increasingly overtaking more productive uses of technology. In a single day, a smartphone user may scroll through countless Facebook posts, watch numerous clips on TikTok, or browse endless YouTube Shorts. I believe many of us are no longer simply users of these platforms. They are, to some extent, addicted to these platforms. The consequences are broad.

There is the issue of missed opportunity. Time that could be spent on learning or economic activity is lost. There are also wider social and economic effects, including lower productivity. More importantly, there are personal health costs, from cognitive fatigue to reduced well-being.

As policymakers seek to advance digital transformation through initiatives such as the “Digital Ethiopia 2030” strategy, managing these side effects will be essential to healthy, sustainable development.

One possible response would be to restrict access to unproductive digital platforms, especially social media. China is often cited as an example. Restrictions on certain global platforms have encouraged the growth of controlled local alternatives. Those policies were designed to limit social risks, but they also coincided with the rise of globally competitive digital companies such as TikTok and DeepSeek.

In Ethiopia, however, that approach may not be realistic. The country is already integrated with global digital platforms. The institutional and technological capacity needed to enforce broad restrictions is also limited. And as the governing party pursues a more liberal economic policy path, such restrictions may be neither feasible nor desirable.

More realistic options would focus on reducing the side effects of abundance while preserving its benefits. The strongest answer remains self-regulated and healthy digital use. People need more conscious and disciplined engagement with digital tools. Still, better habits can be reinforced by targeted public policy.

One possible, though difficult, option would be fiscal measures targeting excessive digital consumption. Such measures could encourage citizens to use digital tools more productively. If studied carefully, a “digital consumption tax” might also open a new avenue for addressing the country’s relatively low tax-to-GDP ratio. To be sure, applying fiscal policy to digital consumption would be difficult under current technological conditions. Even so, experimentation in this area could prove a valuable addition.

As the pursuit of abundance continues, the effort to manage its unintended consequences should keep pace. In the digital age, the real challenge is no longer access to information, but the discipline to use it wisely.

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PUBLISHED ON Mar 28,2026 [ VOL 26 , NO 1352]

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