Wasn’t technology supposed to make our lives easier? All these dandy inventions were heralded as a means to improve our lives and make them less complicated. Turns out, they’ve done anything but make our lives simpler. In fact, in some ways, they’ve created a stress mess.
A new study out reports that young adults are stressed to the max. You might think they’re stressed about climate change, the political landscape or world hunger — sadly, you’d be mistaken on that. It seems that our youth are stressed out because of technology.
From studyfinds.org:
“Many feel their overall stress level is caused by the accumulation of daily micro-stressors — seemingly trivial experiences — such as being stuck in traffic, waiting for appointments, or various smartphone issues.”
From Endoca, the company that commissioned the stress survey:
Given that priorities tend to shift as time goes on, millennials are no different, and our research uncovered the fact that today’s digital age is causing a bulk of their stress:
- One third believe their phone dying when lost is more stressful than fraudulent charges on their credit card
- 30% put WiFi-issues at a higher rate of stress than being stuck in traffic
- One in five reports that getting zero likes on a social media post is more stress-inducing than having a big argument with their partner
In a snapshot, here are the top 10 stress inducers for millennial’s:
- Losing wallet/credit card
- Arguing with partner
- Commute/traffic delays
- Losing phone
- Arriving late to work
- Slow WiFi
- Phone battery dying
- Forgetting passwords
- Credit card fraud
- Forgetting phone charger
The study shows that 58% of millennial’s, or about 3 out of 5 of them, feel life is getting more stressful right now and that it’s more stressful than ever before. That belief is what disturbs me. For them, losing their phone, or not getting “likes” on social media, is more of a stress inducer than was the Cold War to their elders. They fear their phone battery dying more than they do world hunger. Terrorism must not be an issue in their minds, since commuting delays are near the top of their stress list. How can this be?
We were warned by many great minds that technology can and will be abused. It will be hailed as a savior, but in use, will end up proving to be a significant negative. Of course, some technology, such as in medicine, etc., is a very good thing. But, when people let their smartphones or social media profiles control their lives, the warnings have been proven true.
Life is not meant to be lived in cyberspace. We’re living, breathing organic life and as such, we need the right kind of stimulation — we need to do things that challenge our minds, exercise our bodies and nourish our souls. While I do sympathize, if millennial’s are stressed out by technology, perhaps putting down their phones for a while and staying off social media for a few
daysweeks would do them a world of good. And, while they’re at it, when it comes to getting their news, they may just want to pick up a good ole’ fashioned newspaper — they’ll probably find, as are many these days, that without the din of talking heads or online hysterics, stress levels go down.
