The impact of digital technologies on human decision making in the context of behavioral economics

The diploma thesis deals with the influence of digital technologies, specifically smartphones and mobile applications, on human decision-making, in the context of behavioral economics. The work analyzes the current time period and draws on researches conducted in the second decade of the 21st century. The researched hypothesis of the thesis is that the use of tools in the form of smartphones and mobile applications leads individuals towards the so-called mainstream economy. The aim of the work is to answer the size of the influence on the growth of efficiency and rationality compared to the distract, procrastination and uneconomic behavior. The theoretical part describes orthodox and heterodox economics, mainstream economics and behavioral economics by the method of literature search. In the context of behavioral economics and neuroscience, the work focuses on basic knowledge about human decision-making. Finally, the theoretical part describes the impacts of digital technologies on productivity and human decision-making. The practical part then presents an analysis of existing related researches and its own questionnaire survey, ending with an analysis of the results based on the theoretical basis of the work. The analysis shows that although people perceive smartphones as a benefit, their rationality in the use of these technologies is subject to external factors that distort their decisions. Therefore, the work recommends enlightenment and an appeal to education in this area for the effective use of such a massively expanded tool and the use of behavioral economics for a better understanding of the whole issue.