Technology and Stress

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Technology is defined as the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes. Since the advent of technology humans have progressed and devised remarkable ways of doing things and performing functions in new ways. Current trends have witnessed a shift from use-dependence-abuse of technology making technology one of the major causes and sources of stress.

As mentioned in one of our earlier blogs (http://www.syngrity.com/what-causes-stress/) that discussed various sources of stress, we dedicate this blog to one of the major sources of stress these days; TECHNOLOGY and how it impacts our lives at various levels.

THE DARK SIDE OF TECHNOLOGY

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Perpetual Distraction

Deloitte (2016) mobile consumer survey (cited below)- suggests that one third of the smart phone users don’t actually make traditional phone calls and checking their phones is their first and the last activity for the day.

Most of us reach out to our phones even though there is no new notification. There is an urge to constantly (at times purposelessly) scroll and surf through the Internet, sometimes every 30 seconds. Individuals have deadlines to meet, pay attention to a conversation or attend an event but this urge forces one to reach out to the devices which is perceived as being disinterested. Apart from consuming a major chunk of our daily productive time, it causes a lot of misconceptions and misunderstandings in the personal and professional front.

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Disrupted Sleep Cycle

Recent analyses pointed out that in the 24/7 lifestyle, adolescents use multiple gadgets and technology the entire day and late into the night, which is in turn related to consumption of higher levels of caffeinated beverages. Subsequently their ability to stay alert, be attentive, energy levels and sleeping patterns are disrupted which is a major source of stress to them as well as their parents. It is scientifically proven and well known that the blue light emitted by various devices (cell phones, laptops, tablets and the like) reduces the production of melatonin (the hormone that regulates our sleep/wake cycle). An imbalance in the production and regulation of melatonin makes it difficult for the person to fall asleep.

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FEAR OF MISSING OUT (F.O.M.O)

According to a report (cited below) generated by the Economics Times in 2019, Internet users in India reached a whooping 627 million, in a country that has 46 million people living below the poverty line. This makes us second to China in terms of Internet users. These alarming figures point out at the constant urge to not to be “missed out”. People want to be a part of the social network and access the various platforms to explore, gain information and for entertainment. It leads to anxiety and chronic stress that one might miss out on something. This is a vicious circle, the more one is connected, the more is the fear of missing out. In order to stay connected people explore various social media platforms and spend most of the productive hours of the day doing the same. This leads to stress generated by being disconnected with the people in proximity and perpetually being connected over the Internet.

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Social Comparison

In order to not miss out, one spends most of the time exploring social media platforms, which has a great control over how one evaluates and feels about oneself and significant others. Individuals try and ape others and develop certain archetypes of partners, parents, friends and others. As mentioned by Emily Southwood, the author of Lessons I Learnt When My fiancé Filmed Porn, that people tend to take things way too literally and perceive fantasy expectations as reality. This causes stress at two levels

1. Constant pressure to perform better.
2. Having unrealistic expectations of your partner.

In both the cases the relationship becomes toxic and is a constant source of chronic stress

The same holds true for other relationships. Increased exposure to the Internet and various social media platforms influences us and we create certain unrealistic archetypes. We want to be a certain way, expect our parents to be and act a certain way. This social comparison stemming from unsupervised Internet surfing is a perennial source of personal and family stress.

Social Comparison is not confined to comparing other people with those on social media platforms. People are in a bid to portray themselves as someone else. They want to showcase a perfect lifestyle on social media platforms. This is a momentary distraction but keeps on adding to the suppressed feelings and emotions. Such circumstances result in a bottleneck situation where the individual is focusing more on social media and forgets to pay attention to how he/she is feeling actually. This creates a dissonance between what Carl Rogers defined as an individual’s actual self and real self.

This dissonance leads to conflict and stress and if not addressed at a preventive stage can lead to cognitive discomfort.

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Technostress Among Students

Students, academics, scholars and corporate employees have a perpetual source of stress; the pressure to keep using the latest technology and the fear of being left behind has escalated many folds. Also, there is this constant dilemma of doing what others are doing. Students see other adolescents of their age sharing pictures of them trying new places, alcohol, substances, driving expensive cars etc. This not only causes stress for the confused teenagers but also for their parents. There is stress and tension due to conflict between the demands of the children and what their parents feel is right for them. In this manner technology becomes a cause of stress for individuals and causes conflict between parents and children.

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Increases Vulnerabilities

While exploring and surfing the net, one need to be very cautious. Parents (especially working parents) experience a lot of stress because of the amount of vulnerabilities their children are exposed to while surfing the internet. In order to keep a check, parents are looking for ways in which they could keep the child’s use of technology supervised. For most part of the day children are affixed to the electronic gadgets and the Internet. This consequently turns out to be a major cause for obesity among children, nature deficit disorder, weak eyesight and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).

Conclusion

Technology is the major cause of stress among the masses. We all are surrounded by technology, as it is an essential part of our lives. Just like a coin, technology has a flip side too; technology has contributed in making our lives and business easy to manage but over exposure leads to disruption. We should aim at regulating our exposure and use of technology in a manner that it turn out to be beneficial for us rather than adding on to the list of stressors.

References

Deloitte Mobile Consumer Survey 2016: Deloitte India: Press Release. (2016, December 27). Retrieved from https://www2.deloitte.com/in/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/deloitte-india-mobile-consumer-survey-2016-press-release.html.

https://www.sleep.org/articles/ways-technology-affects-sleep/. (n.d.).

Sharma, N. (2019, September). What causes stress?

http://www.syngrity.com/what-causes-stress/)

The Economic Times. (2019). Internet users in India to reach 627 million in2019. Internet users in India to reach 627 million in2019(1st ed., Vol. 1). Delhi, Delhi.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/india-has-second-highest-number-of-internet-users-after-china-report/articleshow/71311705.cms – https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/india-has-second-highest-number-of-internet-users-

McLeod, S. A. (2014, Feb 05). Carl Rogers. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/carl-rogers.html

Why our children need to get outside and engage with nature. (2010, August 16). The Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/16/childre-nature-outside-play-health