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 an...

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Main Authors: Dimitrios Siakas, Niilo Siakas, Kerstin Siakas, Georgios Lampropoulos
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Children
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/11/12/1472
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author Dimitrios Siakas
Niilo Siakas
Kerstin Siakas
Georgios Lampropoulos
author_facet Dimitrios Siakas
Niilo Siakas
Kerstin Siakas
Georgios Lampropoulos
author_sort Dimitrios Siakas
collection DOAJ
description 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.
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spelling doaj-art-aa163160c09f485eb64d1650d751880e2024-12-27T14:17:49ZengMDPI AGChildren2227-90672024-11-011112147210.3390/children11121472Exploring Digital Stress of Finnish Adolescents and Their ParentsDimitrios Siakas0Niilo Siakas1Kerstin Siakas2Georgios Lampropoulos3Häme University of Applied Sciences, 13100 Hämeenlinna, FinlandVaasan Lyseon Lukio, 65100 Vaasa, FinlandDepartment of Information and Electronic Engineering, International Hellenic University, 57400 Sindos, GreeceDepartment of Applied Informatics, University of Macedonia, 54636 Thessaloniki, GreeceBackground/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.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/11/12/1472digital stresssocial mediadigital social multitaskingDSMTburnoutcase study
spellingShingle Dimitrios Siakas
Niilo Siakas
Kerstin Siakas
Georgios Lampropoulos
Exploring Digital Stress of Finnish Adolescents and Their Parents
Children
digital stress
social media
digital social multitasking
DSMT
burnout
case study
title Exploring Digital Stress of Finnish Adolescents and Their Parents
title_full Exploring Digital Stress of Finnish Adolescents and Their Parents
title_fullStr Exploring Digital Stress of Finnish Adolescents and Their Parents
title_full_unstemmed Exploring Digital Stress of Finnish Adolescents and Their Parents
title_short Exploring Digital Stress of Finnish Adolescents and Their Parents
title_sort exploring digital stress of finnish adolescents and their parents
topic digital stress
social media
digital social multitasking
DSMT
burnout
case study
url https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/11/12/1472
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