Technostress
Technostress or engineering stress is a specific category of the phenomenon of stress . Technostress caused in everyday situations where it an excessive demand comes the user with new technical equipment or systems. Technostress is a reaction of the body to the strong psychological stress that can be caused by technology . In many ways it stands for resistance to changes that newly introduced technologies bring with them.
Etymology and synonymous use of terms
The term technology ( Greek τεχνολογία technologia ) is derived from τέχνη technē "art (especially oratory), craft" and λόγος logos "word, teaching, science" and describes the development of new technical functionality. Technology (from the Greek τεχνικός technikós ) refers to the specific products or devices in which a technology is implemented. Both can lead to stress reactions and are often used synonymously. However, a distinction can be made between stress when getting used to new technical developments (the technology, e.g. the development from a simple mobile phone to a smartphone with new uses) and stress due to unfamiliar software or device design, e.g. In the case of smartphones, for example , one needs to get used to another mobile app that offers similar functions but requires different operation.
Stress response
With a stress reaction , all sensory organs are adjusted to the perception of dangerous situations . The body releases more stress hormones. This “mobilizes” the body in seconds. Heart rate, blood pressure and breathing rate increase. Energy suppliers are released, the muscles tense and the nervous system becomes uneasy. The affected person becomes nervous and tense. In the case of technostress, the body's physical reaction makes it difficult to cope with the problem situation. The body reacts with increasingly violent reactions and the person concerned gets into an increasingly stressful situation until a psychological defense reaction occurs. A real resistance to the cause of the physical condition is built up. So it becomes almost completely impossible to get rid of the existing problem and the excessive demands of the world. The task can only be completed with great difficulty or not at all.
Avoidance
The following measures can be taken against technostress:
- Procure user - friendly hardware and software .
- Maintain an open attitude towards technology.
- Get help from specialists.
- Familiarize yourself with new technical devices through training and further education.
- Turn away from technology or significantly limit its use.
Symptoms
Technostress manifests itself in typical stress symptoms, these can be psychological but also physical in nature.
Psychological effects are:
- Difficulty concentrating and forgetfulness
- Nervousness and inner restlessness
- indefinite fears and panic attacks up to phobias (cf. technophobia )
- constant tiredness, partly due to insomnia
- Anger and depressive moods
- increasing alcohol, cigarette and tablet consumption
Physical effects are:
- Heart; the pulse rises permanently, strong palpitations up to heart pain
- Circulation; cold hands and feet, dizziness
- Muscles; Muscle tension, headache and back pain, tremors and grinding teeth
- Breathing; Difficulty breathing such as shortness of breath or hoarseness
- Digestion; Stomach pain up to nausea; Cravings and / or loss of appetite
- Water balance; Sweating, wet hands and feet, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth, diarrhea, constipation
- Immune system; protracted colds, frequent infections, allergies
Typical secondary diseases are high blood pressure, caused by the increased activity of the heart. In most cases this is followed by heart attacks. The changed eating habits and digestive problems can lead to overweight or underweight and gastrointestinal ulcers.
literature
- Michelle M. Weil, Larry D. Rosen: TechnoStress: coping with technology work home play. Wiley, New York et al. 1997, ISBN 0-471-17709-1 .
- R. Riedl, H. Kindermann, A. Auinger, A. Javor: Technostress From a Neurobiological Perspective: System Breakdown Increases the Stress Hormone Cortisol in Computer Users. In: Business & Information Systems Engineering. Vol. 4, No. 2, 2012, pp. 61-69.
- R. Riedl: On the Biology of Technostress: Literature Review and Research Agenda. In: The DATABASE for Advances in Information Systems. Vol. 44, No. 1, 2013, pp. 18-55.
- R. Riedl, H. Kindermann, A. Auinger, A. Javor: Computer Breakdown as a Stress Factor during Task Completion under Time Pressure: Identifying Gender Differences Based on Skin Conductance. In: Advances in Human-Computer Interaction. Volume 2013, Article ID 420169.
- R. Riedl: Human-Computer Interaction and Stress. In: HMD - Praxis der Wirtschaftsinformatik. Issue 294, 2013, pp. 97-106.
- C. Maier, S. Laumer, A. Eckhardt, T. Weitzel: Giving too much Social Support: Social Overload on Social Networking Sites. In: European Journal of Information Systems (EJIS). doi: 10.1057 / ejis.2014.3 .
Web links
- Technostress in Libraries ( Memento from February 15, 2012 in the Internet Archive )