Exploring Digital Stress of Finnish Adolescents and Their Parents.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The way people communicate has significantly changed due to technological advances and penetration of cell phones and broadband connection into everyday activities. Nowadays, individuals are constantly connected through the Internet. This influences social experiences, self and social identity, and can cause digital stress, which often leads to negative emotions, psychosomatic outcomes, and diseases. It is a matter of concern for the adolescents and their families. This paper investigates how Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and social media influence adolescents' and parents' digital stress and anxiety.

METHODS

Based on two digital stressors scales, a 30-item questionnaire was created. A quantitative analysis of data deriving from 164 Finnish adolescents and 53 of their parents regarding digital stress was conducted.

RESULTS

"Privacy Intrusion", "Availability stress/Online vigilance", and "Usefulness" were the most essential stressor factors for both students and parents. Additionally, the most significant stressor factors for students were the "Fear of Missing Out/FoMO" and "Approval Anxiety" factors while for parents were the "Safety/Security" and "Technical Support" factors. No significant differences were observed between the overall digital stress of adolescents and parents. In contrast to the existing literature, no connection between "Connection (Information) Overload" and digital stress was found.

CONCLUSIONS

This paper contributes to debates regarding the effects of the use of digital resources, ICTs, and social media on processes at school, at work, and at home. The findings of our study confirm and further validate those of previous studies with the exception of "Connection (Information) Overload", which needs to be further investigated to understand the reasons behind it.