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TECHNOSTRESS AMONG STUDENTS 1
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TECHNOSTRESS AS EXPERIENCED BY STEM STUDENTS:
ITS EFFECTS AND CONSEQUENCES
A Research Paper
Submitted to
Dr. Claudia Odette J. Ayala
In Partial Fulfilment
of the Requirements
for Practical Research 1
Submitted by
Charles Joshua J. Ayala

Irvin Meica Bunyi
Patrick John Reyes
Dylan Santos
Samantha De Villa
STEM 11B7
November 24, 2017

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CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING
Background of the Study
Technology is a branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use
of technical means and their interrelation with life, society, and environment. The
rapid growth of technology today brought people to the new way of life. It made
their lives much easier than before. Hence, it is an undeniable fact that technology
is very vital in today’s society that most institutions use technology to help reduce
work.
The creation of computer software and hardware, telecommunications,
databases, and the Internet has affected society as a whole by giving people new
productivity options and changing the way they work (Hulbert, 1998). In the
information age, the increasing use of information technology has become the
driving force in the way people work, learn, and play (Drake, 2000).
Technological revolution in organization has not only improved efficiency
but also helped reduce the problem of boredom in the workplace (Vieitez, Carcia,
& Rodriquez, 2001). Technology does not just help in the field of workplace but
also in the field of education especially to students.
In particular, technology has given many benefits to students. Technology is
both customizable and intrinsically motivating to children. It is compatible to
expanding the learning experience. It makes children more productive,

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independent, creative, and knowledgeable. Research has also revealed that uses
of specific technology can improve students of all grades learning capabilities as
well. It allowed students to have easy access to information and offers many
solutions to problems.
However, many educators believe that introducing children to technology is
harmful. They believe that technology encourages laziness, can be expensive, and
can interfere with children interacting with teachers and their classmates.
However, although it is a crucial tool that children use to productively carry out
ideas, acquire knowledge skills, and solve problems, it also has its disadvantages.
Technology requires people to change and adapting to technology is not
that easy. The quest to incorporate Information and Communication Technologies
(ICTs) in organizational processes and products has exponentially increased the
level of user dependence on these technologies. Prior research centered on
organizational behavior has described various end-user reactions to ICTs, such as
anxiety and tension (Heinssen et al., 1987), perceived higher work pressures, job
dissatisfaction (Smith et al., 1981), and ambiguity about job demands (Love et al.,
1989).
In recent years, there have been a number references to a phenomenon
called technostress (Clark & Kalin, 1996; Weil & Rosen, 1997; Brillhart 2004),
attributable to the explosive growth of end-user computing and networking
technologies. Technostress relates to the phenomenon of stress experienced by
end users. Inability to cope with technology could lead to technostress with its
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resultant physiological and psychological complications. It is therefore important to
recognize the anxiety associated with technostress in order to help the individual
involved adjust well to the challenges. This will ultimately improve personal as well
as professional well-being.
Likewise, technostress is a modern disease of adaptation caused by an
inability to cope with the new technologies in a healthy manner. It manifests itself
in two distinct but related ways: in the struggle to accept computer technology, and
in the more specialized form of overidentification with computer technologies
(Brod, 1984). As such, technostress can be divided further into four distinct but
related components: performance anxiety, information overload, role conflicts and
organizational factors (Kupersmith, 1992).
In this light, a study on the causes and effects of technostress especially in
the academic should be conducted to address the possible problems that it brings
to students.
Statement of the Problem
This research investigated the effects of stress caused by using technology
among STEM Students.
Specifically, it aimed to answer the following questions:
1. What is the profile of the subjects?
2. What is their level of exposure to technologies?
3. What are their reasons for using technologies?

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4. What are the causes or sources of technostress among STEM students?
5. What are the perceived effects or consequences of technostress among
STEM students?
Theoretical Framework
Several theories explain the concept of stress among individuals.
Specifically, four organizational theories of stress have been identified to support
the purpose of the study.
These include the transactional model, the stress cycle, and the person-
environment fit theory which share the understanding that stress results from an
interplay of the individual and his/her environment.
The transactional model of stress and coping explains that stress emerges
when environmental demands tax an individual’s resources. Thus, this theory
focuses on the transaction between an individual and the environment. Through
primary appraisal, an individual assesses possible detrimental effects, and through
secondary appraisal the individual selects coping behaviors. This theory is
significant to the present study as it indicates the occurrence of stress among
individuals which could be attributed to the use of technology such as the case of
students who are heavy users of technology.
Another theory relevant to the present study is McGrath’s stress cycle
which identified four stages: the objective situation, perception of the objective
situation, selection of a response, and the individual’s behavior. McGrath also

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identified six categories for possible sources of stress: task, role, behavior setting,
physical environment, social environment, and person. This implies that students
exposed to technologies could experience stress which could have an implication
on their academic performance.
Likewise, according to the person-environment fit model, stress is the result
of a misfit between characteristics of the individual (abilities or needs) and the
environment (demands or supplies). Misperception of the individual and/or the
environmental side of this relationship is the major cause of stress. This means
individuals with the same abilities and perceiving exactly the same stressor (e.g.,
computer breakdown) might exhibit different levels of stress due to distinct desires
(e.g., both individuals want to complete the task before leaving work, however, one
wishes to leave work earlier). Thus, even in case of a phenomenon which is
relatively universal in nature (i.e., computer breakdown), the extent of its stress-
invoking potential is significantly affected by the importance given to computer
functioning by an individual’s set of desires in a specific situation.
All these theories somehow explain the concept of stress specifically
technostress among students.
Conceptual Framework
Human society has significantly benefited from the adoption of technology.
The era of computers, gadgets, laptops, iPods, smartphones, Androids, tablets,
among others has made a big difference on the lives of the present generation.
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Now that students of this generation are into technology, technologies have
helped them with its widespread advantages. However, there are also setbacks or
negative effects that should be given attention. One of these is technostress or the
psychosomatic illness caused by working with computer technology on a daily
basis.
The conceptual paradigm is illustrated on the next page.
Level of Exposure to
Technologies
TECHNO
Reasons for Using STRESS Causes/Sources
Technology of Technostress
EFFECTS/
CONSEQUENCES OF
TECHNOSTRESS
Figure 1. Conceptual paradigm of the study.
Figure 1 shows that the students’ exposure to technology could lead to
technostress. However, its level depends on their reasons for using the
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technologies and the sources/causes of technostress. This would have
corresponding effects or consequences on their daily life.
Scope and Limitations
The study focused on technostress among STEM students and its effects
and consequences. Specifically, it covered their level of exposure to technologies,
their reasons for using them, the causes or sources of technostress; and the
perceived effects or consequences of technostress.
The findings are limited to the perception of subjects who were identified to
be experiencing technostress based on their level of use of technologies. Five
students enrolled in the STEM strand in a private school were used as subjects of
the study while 12 students were involved in the focus group discussion.
Technologies in this study was only limited to the computer or laptop,
cellular phone, and Ipad or tablet, and other gadgets which students use everyday.
The study was conducted within the second semester of school year 2017-18.
Limitation of time and budget somehow affected the results of the study.
Significance of the Study
This study is significant as it could STEM students become aware of the
consequences of the use of technologies. It could also help identify their level of
technostress and how they could address this problem.

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This study could also provide more information regarding the reasons for
the adoption of technology among students and the causes or sources of stress in
the use of these technologies.
The study could provide information to the faculty on how they could guide
their students in the responsible use of technologies and how they could
effectively facilitate students’ learning.
This research also allowed the researchers to enhance their research skills.
Future researchers could likewise use this study as reference on a related topic
regarding stress, technology, and student performance.
Definition of Terms
The following terms are defined for clarify and understanding:
Effects or consequences mean the result or impact of the use of
technology among students.
Exposure refers to the frequency and length of use of technology by
students.
Gadgets in this study refers to mechanical or electronic devices or tools
such as cellphone, computer, laptop, tablet, or Ipad.
ICT or information communication technology are types of technologies
that can be utilized for more effective transactions and communication.
Innovation refers to a breakthrough or invention which includes modern
technology.
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Technology refers to technical innovations being used by students which
include computer, laptop, Ipad, smartphones, tablets, and other gadgets.
Technostress is a modern disease of adaptation caused by an inability to
cope with the new technologies in a healthy manner. It is stress experienced by
individuals who make use of technologies and computers on a regular basis. It
occurs when technological/computer tasks exceed an individual’s coping
strategies.
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CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURES
This chapter presents relevant discussion on the benefits of technology,
concept of stress, technostress, and other related topics. They were taken from
printed materials, related studies, and electronic journals.
Benefits of Technology
Technologies have become part of people’s everyday life. Particularly,
information and communication technologies have been adopted in organizations
to serve various purposes and functions.
This encouraged several researchers in the field of information systems (IS)
to extensively study the adoption, acceptance, self-efficacy, and other related
issues with respect to ICTs (Agarwal, 2000). It was revealed that information and
communication technologies (ICTs) pervade organizational and individual life. With
increasing uses of ICTs, how individuals interact with technology and its related
consequences has gained importance (Yin, Davison, Bian, Wu, & Liang, 2014).
In recent years, organizations have improved productivity by permitting
employees to use Mobile Information and Communication Technologies (MICTs)
at work. Furthermore, an increasing number of consumer sector innovations have
infiltrated organizations (Weiss & Leimeister, 2012). This trend has resulted in the
widespread use of MICTs in organizations. MICTs have also become an important

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part of the organizational technological environment, especially in the context of IT
consumerization. MICTs are defined as portable IT artifacts that include
hardware/devices, software/applications, and network services (Jarvenpaa &
Lang, 2005). It is expected that MICTs will have a lasting impact on both
individuals and organizations.
Moreover, advances in ICTs provide organizations opportunities for access
to information and enable new work arrangements that were previously not
possible. For example, ICTs have made it possible for individuals to work virtually
such as not having to physically go to the office and made work-from-home a
reality. Organizations expect productivity and efficiency increases as use of ICTs
enhance timeliness and connectivity, and break down geographic and time
barriers. It has become commonplace that organizations are dispersed, and
consist of individuals working by means of ICTs in new organizational forms
(Staples et al., 1999; Townsend, 1998).
Use of ICTs has also produced a perpetual urgency as it facilitates ease in
generating and transporting data/information and creates the expectations that
people need, or are obligated to use, the data/information faster (Hind, 1998).
Moreover, the focus on short-term benefits and shareholder’s value – the
dominant business perspective in Western nations – has produced increasingly
lean organizations, encouraging cultures that reward people who work very hard,
spend longer hours at work and are connected to the organization 24/7 via ICTs
(Spruell, 1987; Kouzmin & Korac-Kakabadse, 2000).

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These are some of the many benefits of technology in various types of
organizations which could also be similar in educational institutions.
Negative Effects of Technology
In recent years, while the rapid development of IT has brought
convenience, it has also caused four commons negative effects. The first is
computer anxiety. Harrington, Elroy, and Morrow (1990) termed the negative
psychological status when people have aversion or rejection towards the use of
computers as computer anxiety or computer phobia. Cambre and Cook (1985)
defined computer anxiety as the feelings of worries, fear, or incompetence
experienced by users when they use or even anticipate using computer
technologies. Computer anxiety is found to be a source of negative impact on
organizational performance (Desai & Richards, 1998).
The second is Internet anxiety. One major reason for causing Internet
anxiety is that users need to learn new languages and applications in a short
period of time (Macaulay, 2003). Another is the fear of dealing with unforeseen
circumstances, contacting strangers, or being involved in a variety of risks (e.g.
viruses and spyware). Presno (1998) clarified four types of Internet anxiety:
Internet terminology anxiety, net search anxiety, Internet time delay anxiety, and
general fear of Internet failure.
The third is technostress. Brod (1984) defined technostress as “a modern
disease of adaptation caused by an inability to cope with new computer

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technologies in a healthy manner”. Weil and Rosen (1997) further defined the
notion as the negative influence of attitudes, cognition, behavior, or mental state of
mind after the user had made contact with a technology directly or indirectly.
Tarafdar et al. (2007) developed and verified one which consists of five groups of
factors to describe how technostress occurs in generic situations: techno-overload,
techno-invasion, techno-complexity, techno-insecurity, and techno-uncertainty.
Tarafdar et al. (2007) also took a further step to examine what effects technostress
can have on role stress and productivity, and the results show both relationships
are negative. Ragu-Nathan et al. (2008) explored the effects on individuals and
organizations of technostress based on a transaction-based model, and identified
technostress creators and inhibitors. Technostress creators include techno-
overload, techno-invasion, techno-complexity, techno-insecurity, and techno-
uncertainty. Technostress inhibitors are technical support provision, Literacy
facilitation, and Involvement facilitation. The study also reveals a negative
relationship between technostress creators and job satisfaction and a positive
relationship between job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and continuance
commitment from technostress.
The fourth is mobile technostress. Yu et al. (2009) pointed out that mobile
technostress comprises four components which are technology, stress,
technostress, and mobile technology. The major concern with using IT is to have
control of it. Users experience stress when they lose control, have a bad
experience, or are unable to utilize it adequately. Four technology acceptance

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factors can be used for measuring the creation of mobile technostress: usefulness
of technology, ease of use of technology, techno-accessibility of technology, and
normality of technology. Their study shows that when there is interaction between
human beings and technology, there is the potential for a negative impact. While
technology empowers users with more abilities to handle tasks, mobile
technostress surfaces if the users cannot find a balance between using and
controlling the technology, particularly when they sense a loss of control.
These are relevant literatures that discuss the different negative of effects
of technology which include technostress which will be discussed further in this
paper.
Technostress
Several literatures have emphasized how individuals can better utilize ICTs.
However, there is also considerable interest about technology induced anxiety and
stress that affect the productivity of individuals (Yin et al., 2014).
Technostress simply means technological stress. The name is derived from
“technology” and “stress”. It is stress experienced by individuals who make use of
technologies and computers on a regular basis. It occurs when
technological/computer tasks exceed an individual’s coping strategies.
Technostress has been considered to be a problem, a very real problem (Wade &
Hulland, 2004). The concept technostress was introduced in 1984 by Bord. It is “a
modern disease of adaptation caused by an inability to cope with the new

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computer technologies in a healthy manner. It manifests itself in two distinct and
related ways: in the struggle to accept computer technology, and in the more
specialized form of over-identification with computer technology (Yin et al., 2014).
In recent years, a number of researchers have studied a phenomenon
named technostress (Tarafdar et al., 2007; Weil & Rosen, 1997), which has been
attributed to the explosive growth and overuse of technologies. Technostress
refers to individuals’ feelings of stress due to the use of ICTs. The most widely
used definition of technostress in the literature is “a modern disease of adaptation
caused by an inability to cope with new computer technologies in a healthy
manner” (Brod, 1984 as cited in Yin et al., 2014). Technostress can directly result
in physical and mental strains for individuals, such as high blood pressure, heart
disease and musculoskeletal disorders (Pransky et al., 2002). Thus, technostress
negatively impacts on employees’ psychological and physical health.
In the existing literature, ubiquitous technostress has been recognized as
“the users of a mobile technology who are familiar with the current operating
technology encountering specific stress caused by the characteristics of mobility
and/or reachability of the technology or suffering for a long period of time through
continual connection with that particular mobile technology” (Hung et al., 2011).
Technostress is also likely to occur when new technologies are being introduced,
dispersed or adopted by individuals or organizations.
Kuo et al. (2009) suggested that individuals may experience mobile
technostress when they feel an imbalance between using MICTs and not being
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able to use MICTs. Because of their widespread use and ubiquitous nature, MICTs
have significantly changed individuals’ way of work and life. MICTs promote the
co-existence of a more flexible workplace with demands for continuous
connection, frequent interruption, and more complex work arrangements.
Individuals may experience high levels of anxiety and sense a loss of control as a
result (Hung et al., 2011).
In relation to the present study, it could indicate that the use of technology
among students could lead to an imbalance in their student life. If they are not
properly using technology, their academic performance and achievement might be
affected negatively.
In the workplace, practical evidence also indicated that technostress leads
to perceived work overload, information overload, loss of motivation, and job
dissatisfaction (Weil & Rosen 1997 as cited in Yin et al., 2014). Recent studies
have demonstrated that technostress has negative effects on some important
organizational outcomes. For example, it has led to decreases in productivity and
organizational commitment, and increases in employee turnover (Ahmad et al.,
2012; Tarafdar et al., 2011). Unsurprisingly, technostress has increasingly
attracted the attention of academics.
This is significant to the present study because technology has also
invaded educational institutions. While they are primarily aimed at improving the
quality of teaching and learning, this may not be a reality in all cases. Students
and teachers alike might overuse technology to the point of not utilizing them
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effectively as an aid to learning. Sometimes, they can lead to stress and disruption
among them especially if they use them inappropriately.
Meanwhile, some technostress studies involving individuals focused
exclusively on stationary ITs (Ragu-Nathan et al., 2008; Tarafdar et al., 2007; Tu
et al., 2005). Others have studied the comprehensive influence of stationary and
mobile technologies on individual and organizational outcomes (Ayyagari et al.,
2011). Recent research has seen a focus on the negative effects of one single
MICT, such as the smart phone (Yun et al., 2012). However, little attention is being
paid to a general understanding of MICTs’ influence on users (Sorensen & Gibson,
2008). This could be explored in the present study that will be conducted by the
researchers who would like to identify its effects on the senior high school students
particularly.
Information technology may have revolutionized modern day life for
students, but it has also brought with it new problems. Technological facilities are
supposed to be time-saving devices that make work and life generally, easier and
convenient.
In the study conducted by Yin et al. (2008), they explored the phenomenon
of mobile technostress which included stress experienced by users of mobile
information and communication technologies. They examined the impacts of
mobile technostress on individuals’ job satisfaction. Based on the transaction
based model of stress and the existing literature on technostress, a conceptual
model was proposed to understand this phenomenon. Two sources of mobile

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technostress have been identified: techno-overload and techno-insecurity. They
hypothesized that techno-overload and techno-insecurity exert a negative impact
on job satisfaction. The individual level mobile technostress inhibitors (i.e., self-
efficacy) are identified as helping individuals reduce stress. They also
hypothesized that self-efficacy has a positive impact on job satisfaction.
Furthermore, the moderator effects of habit were also explored. They
hypothesized that habit will negatively moderate the relationship between mobile
technostress creators and job satisfaction, and positively moderate the relationship
between mobile technostress inhibitors and job satisfaction. The methodological
design as well as potential theoretical and practical implications have also been
discussed.
Indeed, this emphasizes the need to study about technostress among
students as the use of mobile technologies or mobile phones is a common
scenario in school. In fact, most of these students can afford to have smart phones
that allow them to have more access to various applications. This could have a
negative impact on their everyday life if not properly monitored.
Studies of mobile technostress are theoretically based on technostress and
organizational stress. Yu et al. (2009) and Kuo et al. (2009) summarized four
components that characterize the phenomenon of mobile technostress, i.e.,
technology, stress, technostress, and mobile technology. They pointed out that
individuals will perceive stress while losing control due to use of mobile
technologies. According to the Transaction Based Model (TBM), Hung et al.

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(2011) investigated the phenomenon of mobile technostress by identifying mobile
technostress creators and mobile technostress inhibitors. Lee et al. (2012)
established that technostress has a negative impact on continuous use of
smartphones. Yun et al. (2012) also indicated that the use of an office-home
smartphone (OHS) will result in work-life conflict and eventually increase job
stress.
As stated earlier, even though ICTs might enhance the productivity of
individuals and enable new forms of working, there are also concerns regarding
negative consequences of ICTs advances in organizations and individuals’ life.
ICTs are responsible for increased levels of stress at work and for blurring the
divide between work and other aspects of life (Millard, 1999). Some have argued
that this increase is due to increased workloads (Aborg & Billing, 2003; Sandblad
et al., 2003).
Likewise, individuals have often complained about ‘instant’ expectations, as
people are expected to respond quicker now with things like email, etc. Everything
has become instant (Kinman & Jones, 2005). Individuals and organizations as a
whole are expected to do more in less time because the technology to do so is
available. For some people, there is a sense of information overload and finally an
inability to cope with all of these ever-changing new technologies.
The pervasiveness of ICTs and new work structures may contribute to
‘technostress’ (Weil & Rosen, 1997). Some researchers believe that technostress
as a result of ICTs is on the rise leading to such negative organizational

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consequences as turnover and productivity losses (Tu, Wang, & Shu, 2005), while
some have actually found out that these technologies have impacted positively on
organizational performance (Melville, Kraemer, & Gurbaxani, 2004).
Meanwhile, Tiwari, Singh, and Singh (2008) investigated the effect of
technological change in community college libraries and learning resources
personnel, with the intention of finding out how employees in Florida community
college library and learning resource centers in the USA were dealing with
technostress as a result of technological changes in their work environment. Most
of the employees sampled believed that technology had made their work “neither
less nor more stressful” although they confirmed that technology has increased
their workload and added more responsibilities. Employees for whom technology
had impacted health negatively were also in the minority. The results of the
investigation indicated that the staff reacted positively to technostress and
ergonomics. It was thus concluded that technostress and ergonomics on a job can
be increased when workers have too little training on the technology adopted on
the job, when there is a rapid rate of change in technological innovations, and
when there is unrealistic pressure to produce results.
This could indicate that the use of technology among students could have
positive and negative consequences. In particular, a conduct of study on the
phenomenon of technostress among senior high school students could be an
interesting topic that could contribute to the dearth of literatures on technostress.

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In another study of Chinese employees, Tu, Wang, and Shu (2005) found
that technostress affected productivity in different ways despite the potential
benefits of using Internet-based and other computer technologies. It was found
that greater workload increased technostress thereby making Chinese employees
have a feeling of frustration and depression in their struggle to adapt to rapidly
advancing and increasingly complex technologies. Unlike the findings obtained in
similar studies in the developed countries, the overall technostress level had no
significant effect on Chinese employee productivity. However, it was discovered
that some individual components of technostress had significant effect on
productivity; techno-overload had a significant positive effect on productivity while
technoinvasion and techno-insecurity significantly hurt individual productivity. It
was observed that using new technologies pushed employees to work faster and
be more productive since the culture of the Chinese support employees to endure
work overload rather than quit their jobs. However, extremely high workload
inevitably overwhelms employees’ personal lives and hence, individual productivity
is hampered.
Fisher (2001) also explored the impact of technostress on productivity in
two government organizations in the USA. It was discovered that there were five
technostress creators which were techno-overload, techno-invasion, techno-
complexity, techno-insecurity and techno-uncertainty, and all these had significant
negative impact on individual productivity. This finding is also supported by
Tarafdar et al. (2005) who studied technostress in the electronic workplace.

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Also, Sweeney and Summers (2002) conducted a study to explore the
effect which technology had on librarians working in academic and research
libraries in Kuwait. The study set to find out how technology affected management
issues, personnel changes, stress sources and performance. It was discovered
that the librarians acknowledged an improved performance with the use of
technology in spite of the stress and pressure of expanded workload when it was
used by non-technically oriented professionals. It was thus concluded that the
level of stress associated with technology use could be increased by insufficient
formal training programs and inadequate technical support resulting in the majority
of librarians becoming frustrated by technological breakdowns.
This could have an implication on the use of technology in school
specifically among students. Findings of the present study could indicate the
needed program to address technostress among students.
Managing Technostress
There are some major criticisms of Brod’s view that technostress is a
“condition”, a “disease”, and the fact that it is caused by “inability” on the part of
some individual to cope with it. Information age is all about change, or to be more
specific, a response to “techno-change”, not about technical components such as
machines, programs, network, or fiber optics (as cited in Agboola & Olasanmi,
2016). It was argued that technology is not to be blamed because computer and
technologies are just tools. Since the introduction of technology will involve
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change, and that such change will eventually lead to some resistance, stress is a
natural reaction. Hence, managing technostress means managing the change
involved and not managing the technology itself. Technostress is not actually as a
disease, but as a negative psychological, behavioral, and physiological impact
caused, either directly or indirectly, by technology. Technostress has also been
proposed as a term which describes the physiological arousal and mental state
observed in some people who rely greatly on computers in their work.
Hence, technostress has been defined as a condition resulting from having
to adapt to the introduction and operation of new technology, particularly when
equipment, support, or the technology itself is inadequate. From all these
definitions, it can be rightfully concluded that technostress is another word for
technology-related stress. In this context, stress is caused by working with multiple
and rapidly changing technologies, and mediating between these systems and the
demands of an organization, staff, customers, and personal life.
Indeed, technostress is becoming one of the setbacks of technology. It is
experienced by both the young and old and therefore affects individual and
organization. All these could affect an organization by increasing absenteeism,
decreasing commitment to work, increasing staff turn-over, increasing complaints
from clients and customers, increasing unsafe working practices, adversely
affecting staff recruitment, and damaging an organization’s image both among its
workers and externally (Agboola & Olasanmi, 2016).

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This is very much relevant to the present study which focuses on
technostress among students which could be an alarming phenomenon that has to
be looked into.
Causes of Technostress
In the present technological age, it is important to understand the
antecedents to technostress, since stress in the work place is recognized as
contributing to lower employee productivity and higher health costs for companies
(Cooper et al., 2001 Tennant, 2001). As reported by InformationWeek, advances
in technologies (i.e. virtual office technologies) also contribute to increased
burnout (McGee, 1996).
In the United States, it is estimated that stress-related ailments, including
burnout cost as much as $300 billion a year (McGee, 1996), and by some
estimates, as much as five to ten per cent of Gross National Product (Vernon,
1998). Further, there is empirical evidence which suggested that stress and job
performance are negatively related. In a study of software developers, it is shown
that performance of software developers is severely affected when they are under
strain (Chilton et al., 2005). Also, the negative relationship between stress and
performance is underscored in an existing research between stress and job
performance (Jex, 1998). Therefore, it is important from the management
perspective to address the issue of technostress for two reasons - the health costs
attributed to stress and the productivity losses of employees. Although stress has
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been extensively studied, there is a lack of conceptual and theoretical
understanding of the drivers of technostress.
This literature indicates the gap in understanding what characteristics of
technology induce stress. Further, there are calls for research in on the stressful
impacts of ICT use and new work arrangements that are enabled by ICTs (Cooper
et al., 2001; Weber, 2004).
Based on these literatures, it is therefore important to understand if and
how technology induces stress at workplace or even in the academe particularly
among students.
Technostress can be caused by different technological factors or concerns.
Five of these factors are empirically validated techno stress indicators/creators
and they are techno-overload, techno-invasion, techno-complexity, techno-
insecurity, techno-uncertainty. Others according to include inappropriate training
and lack of standardization within technologies. Techno-overload describes a
situation where use of information communication technologies (ICTs) force
individuals or professionals to work more, faster, and requires them to be more
productive (Agboola & Olasanmi, 2016).
Increased workload with the advent of new technology is not often planned
since collections of data and reports can be made available at the click of a button.
The pace of work thus becomes faster, and it continues to rise up at a faster
speed. This sometimes frustrates an individual’s trying to cope. There is no
doubting the fact that mobile computing devices make it possible to process real-
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time information, but this often results in information overload, interruptions, and
multi-tasking, which, according to Smeltzer (1987) as cited in Agboola and
Olasanmi (2016), can to lead to “information fatigue” since it expose users to more
information. Multitasking implies professionals simultaneously working on different
applications and tasks, trying to do more in less time, and experiencing tension.
Moreover, work is very often interrupted with e-mails, text messages and
office correspondence, which arrive at a fast rate than individuals can cope with.
All these put more pressure on users, making them to attend to information as
soon as it arrives, creating anxiety, tension and workflows disconnects, and
making sustained mental attention difficult.
Techno-invasion simply describes a situation in which employees must be
constantly available 24/7 since the technology is also available. It is a situation
where professionals can potentially be reached anywhere and anytime and feel
the need to be constantly connected, even when they are on leave or vacation
(Agboola & Olasanmi, 2016). With the advent of ICTs, virtually almost all office
work can be done online while the employee is as easily accessible as the
information. The problem is that an employee’s day is constantly interrupted. This
often leads to an experience of intrusion on personal time and space, hence, they
experience frustration and stress.
Meanwhile, techno-complexity, according to Sweeney and Summers
(2002), describes a situation in which users of ICT feels incompetent at handling
and using new technologies as a result of the complexity associated with it. As
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employees begin to learn how to operate and work with a device newly introduced
within the organization, a new one enters the scene. This new device is often
considered to be faster, smarter, and usually smaller than the previous one.
Techno-insecurity is a circumstance which arises when users feel
threatened about losing their jobs to other people who have a better understanding
of new ICT facilities. This is actually very common among older employees who
often feel that younger recruits are more confident in their use of technological
facilities and fear that this might force management to question their technical
competence. This often leads to tension and stress. An employee’s perhaps
legitimate concern that some machine will make him or her obsolete is a leading,
underlying cause of techno stress (Sweeney & Summers, 2002).
This could also be common among students who might feel techno-
insecurity because the technology they can afford could depend on their economic
status and the lack of it might contribute to their tension and stress.
Techno-uncertainty refers to situations where continued changes and
upgrades to ICT equipment do not give employees a chance to develop a base of
experience for a particular application or system. The rate at which they have to
update their knowledge of new facilities keeps increasing. Thus, employees are
forced to change their work habits, learn and educate themselves about new ICTs,
and strive to always fit into the new technology. There is also the constant
pressure to keep up with technological breakthroughs, forcing employees to learn
new software all the time. Although they may initially be enthusiastic about
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learning new applications and technologies, constant requirements for refreshing
and updating eventually create frustration and anxiety. Network failure occurs
when employees find it difficult to access the Internet in order to carry out an
assignment or get across to a client, they often get frustrated. This might stall an
online conference or access to some needed information.
This could imply that the failure of students to adapt to certain types of
technology or avail of the latest model could also contribute to their stress
(Sweeney & Summers, 2002).
Another cause of techno stress is computers behaving badly. When the
computers do not perform exactly as it is expected to perform, individuals often
feel their time is wasted and this can cause stress to build up. Hardware
ergonomics occurs when individuals feel some form of discomfort when using the
computer which could pose very serious health problems if it is overdone. The
need to ensure that a computer work area is set up in the appropriate way will
prevent fatigue and stress. Inappropriate and improper training occurs since all
employees do not learn the same way. People have different learning styles and
what training program works well for some may not work well for others. Some
people need hands-on training to learn new technology, while some people only
have to read a manual to understand. Techno stress can thus manifest in the
workplace as irritable, perfectionistic workers who hold high expectations for the
machines with which they work (Sweeney & Summers, 2002).

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In summary, it should be noted that technology can be utilized by users but
its benefits could depend on their ability to use them. The society today is getting
increasingly competitive and this demands high pressure from individuals. In this
fast paced changing environment, technologies are being adopted making life
more convenient but challenging for people. However, technostress is an ongoing
phenomenon that needs to be addressed to harness greater benefits from the use
of technologies.
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CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents the methodologies employed in the study. This
includes the research design, research environment, respondents, research
instruments, data gathering procedure, and the statistical treatment.
Research Design
The study used the descriptive case study method of research by utilizing
interviews and focus group discussion to gather. It is a qualitative approach that
focuses on identifying and describing phenomena that now exist. The findings are
based on the perception on technostress as experienced by STEM students and
its impact on their academic performance.
Research Environment
The study was conducted in a private school in Lucena City, Quezon. It was
chosen because it is the most appropriate setting for the study considering the
large number of students enrolled in the STEM strand. Being in a stage highly
exposed to technology and at the same highly vulnerable to technostress, the
students which were identified for the study could best represent their perception
on the topic. It is believed that the respondents in this locale can truly give
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important information as they have the ability and knowledge to answer the
questions.
Respondents
The participants of the study were composed of 5 STEM students who have
been identified to be experiencing technostress based on the pre-survey given to
them. They were selected as sources of information because they have ability to
express their perception on technostress experienced by STEM students and its
impact on their academic performance. Since they are more inclined to science
and technology, it is assumed that they are experiencing technostress.
Twelve students were also identified to be part of the focus group
discussion to validate the responses gathered from the subjects.
Sampling Procedure
The study used purposive sampling in selecting the respondents. The five
subjects were specifically identified as they were found to be experiencing
technostress based on the pre-survey given.
Likewise, the 12 participants were specifically identified based on their
familiarity with technology and the phenomenon of technostress.
Only those who were willing and available were involved in the study.
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Research Instrument
An interview protocol was prepared to gather sufficient data on
technostress as experienced by STEM students and its impact on their academic
performance. It was developed by gathering related literatures and studies. It was
validated through consultation with the research adviser.
Data Gathering Procedures
After getting the approval of the research adviser, permission was sought
to conduct interview with the subjects. Informed consent forms as well as assent
forms were also secured to be able to get the participation of the subjects.
The interview questions were given in advance to allow the subjects and
study participants to prepare their answers. They were personally interviewed by
the researchers in the campus during their convenient time. Permission was also
sought to do audio recording of the actual interview and FGD. They were likewise
given assurance regarding the confidentiality of the data.
The responses were transcribed as soon as possible and were then coded
and categorized for interpretation.
Analytical Framework
Using the naturalistic approach, data were gathered to derive the themes
and meanings in the subjects’ responses. Interpretive inquiry was also utilized to
gather in-depth understanding about the topic.

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CHAPTER IV
PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA
This chapter presents a comprehensive analysis and interpretation of the
data gathered. All the responses were coded, categorized, and interpreted
accordingly.
I. Subjects’ Profile
Subject A
Subject B
Subject C
Subject D
Subject E
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II. Level of Exposure to Technologies
III. Reasons for Using These Technologies
Table 1
Reasons for Using These Technologies

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IV. Causes/Sources of Technostress among STEM students
Table 2
Causes and Sources of Technostress among STEM Students

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V. Effects/Consequences of Technostress among STEM students
Table 3
Effects and Consequences of Technostress among STEM Students
Table 3 reveals that the effects/consequences of technostress among
STEM students.
It shows that their poor performance in class is a quite serious problem
brought about by technostress. It got the highest weighted mean of 3.33. This
means technology is becoming a disadvantage rather than an advantage to them.
They need to be educated on the proper use of technologies so that they can use
them to their advantage instead.
Another effect or consequence which they identified as quite serious
problem is lack of enthusiasm in doing tasks, with a weighted mean of 3.05. Also,
they said that they experience headache and insomnia, with 3.04 and 3.02
weighted mean, respectively. These are already physical manifestations of
technostress that are considered quite serious problems.
These identified quite serious problems must be dealt with so that they will
not lead to more serious consequences in the future. It is important to recognize
the anxiety associated with technostress in order to help students adjust well to
the challenges. This will ultimately improve their personal as well as professional
well-being.
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CHAPTER V
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This chapter presents the summary of findings, conclusions, and
recommendations of the study. The study focused on technostress among STEM
students and its effects and consequences.
Summary of Findings
Based on the data gathered, the following findings are derived:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Conclusions
Based on the data gathered from the students, the following conclusions
are made:
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1. The subjects were highly exposed to technologies such as Android phone,
laptop, desktop computers, and tablets as they spend more than 7 hours in
using them.
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2. The subjects use technologies as a form of pastime or relaxation and as a
means to communicate with others.
3. The usual causes and sources of technostress among STEM students are
obsolete or poor technology, increased time demands, and invasion of privacy.
4. Technostress among STEM students has an impact on their performance and
leads to their lack of enthusiasm in doing tasks. It also has an effect on their
health as they experience headache and insomnia.
Recommendations
Based on the conclusions, the following recommendations are offered:
1. Teachers should educate the students on the proper use of technology so
they harness the benefits of using them.
2. Parents should also monitor their children’s use of technology so the
occurrence of technostress may be controlled and avoided.
3. A seminar should be conducted to make the students aware of the benefits
and disadvantages of technology.

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Appendix “A”
INTERVIEW GUIDE
Name: (optional)_________________________
Age: ____________________________
Sex: ____________________________
Monthly Family Income: ______________
1. What gadgets/technologies do you usually use?

2. How many hours do you spend in using each of these technologies?
3. At what time of day do you usually use these technologies?
4. What are your reasons for using these technologies? Explain each.
5. What usual difficulties or problems do you experience with the use of these
technologies?
6. Do you consider it stressful? Why?
7. Given the fact that you are experiencing technostress, what do you think are the
reasons for the stress you experience?
8. What are some of the consequences or effects of technostress on you? Physical?
psychological? social?
9. What is the impact of technostress on your academic performance?
10. How do you deal with technostress?
Thank you very much!

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TECHNOSTRESS AMONG STUDENTS 1

ITS EFFECTS AND CONSEQUENCES

Dr. Claudia Odette J. Ayala

for Practical Research 1

Charles Joshua J. Ayala

November 24, 2017

THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

Background of the Study

The creation of computer software and hardware, telecommunications,

Technological revolution in organization has not only improved efficiency

also in the field of education especially to students.

In particular, technology has given many benefits to students. Technology is

both customizable and intrinsically motivating to children. It is compatible to

expanding the learning experience. It makes children more productive,

of specific technology can improve students of all grades learning capabilities as

However, many educators believe that introducing children to technology is

Technology requires people to change and adapting to technology is not

that easy. The quest to incorporate Information and Communication Technologies

(ICTs) in organizational processes and products has exponentially increased the

level of user dependence on these technologies. Prior research centered on

organizational behavior has described various end-user reactions to ICTs, such as

In recent years, there have been a number references to a phenomenon

attributable to the explosive growth of end-user computing and networking

technologies. Technostress relates to the phenomenon of stress experienced by

Likewise, technostress is a modern disease of adaptation caused by an

in the more specialized form of overidentification with computer technologies

related components: performance anxiety, information overload, role conflicts and

organizational factors (Kupersmith, 1992).

In this light, a study on the causes and effects of technostress especially in

Statement of the Problem

This research investigated the effects of stress caused by using technology

among STEM Students.

Specifically, it aimed to answer the following questions:

1. What is the profile of the subjects?

2. What is their level of exposure to technologies?

3. What are their reasons for using technologies?

5. What are the perceived effects or consequences of technostress among

Several theories explain the concept of stress among individuals.

Specifically, four organizational theories of stress have been identified to support

the purpose of the study.

interplay of the individual and his/her environment.

when environmental demands tax an individual’s resources. Thus, this theory

focuses on the transaction between an individual and the environment. Through

primary appraisal, an individual assesses possible detrimental effects, and through

secondary appraisal the individual selects coping behaviors. This theory is

significant to the present study as it indicates the occurrence of stress among

students who are heavy users of technology.

Another theory relevant to the present study is McGrath’s stress cycle

situation, selection of a response, and the individual’s behavior. McGrath also

exposed to technologies could experience stress which could have an implication

on their academic performance.

Likewise, according to the person-environment fit model, stress is the result

of a misfit between characteristics of the individual (abilities or needs) and the

environment (demands or supplies). Misperception of the individual and/or the

wishes to leave work earlier). Thus, even in case of a phenomenon which is

invoking potential is significantly affected by the importance given to computer

functioning by an individual’s set of desires in a specific situation.

All these theories somehow explain the concept of stress specifically

technostress among students.

Human society has significantly benefited from the adoption of technology.

The era of computers, gadgets, laptops, iPods, smartphones, Androids, tablets,

psychosomatic illness caused by working with computer technology on a daily

The conceptual paradigm is illustrated on the next page.