How Technology Might Account for the Perceived Stress - Essay Example

Essay Inserts His/Her Inserts Grade Inserts (10 03, Outline Introduction2. How technology might account for the perceived stress. 3. Conclusion How technology might account for perceived stress 1. Introduction. Technology is commended for saving time, efficient communicating, causing convenience and making life easy. Conversely, the outcomes are not the same every time because negative effects have been experienced. Students have experienced stress that is believed to be higher than that experienced by their grandparents before. Present day challenges are different from the issues faced a few decades ago. This is so with the university students who claim that their lives are very stressful. When they reflect what the situation might have been for their grandparents in the past, they predict more stress in the present than in the past. This essay will discuss how technology might account for the increase in the perceived stress. 2. How technology might account for the perceived stress. Stress is considered as a situation where an individual is allocated with responsibilities accompanied by pressure which exceeds the control of the person as Sorenson (2007, p. 10) puts it. Technology is a development that has emerged and keeps advancing rapidly. Technology use was limited to large corporations and the wealthy a few decades ago. In the present day technology has become personalized and is used by the corporations as well as individuals. Technology has been adapted at work, schools and in homes. According to Walz (2012, p. 4) technostress is the name given to adverse effects caused by the use of technology on individuals. One of the major effects is information overload. Students using information system technology experience overload because they acquire a lot of information within a limited time. These causes allot of brain tension together with anxiety. Tarafdar et al (2011, p. 113) add that, the student experience invasion consequences. Technology provides connectivity between people through email, text messages, chats and mobile phones. Students feel the constant need to be connected at all times so that they can be reached any time. Time for study can be easily transformed into a chat or connection which may not be academic. The student is aware of different events happening and can react by commenting and replying. Continuous links on the technology stimulates the experience of private time or space being infringed. The result is stress and annoyance. Technology is complex and requires commitment. Students are obliged to learn how to use applications designed for the information system technology. Besides creating time to learn the new applications, students should make an effort to learn every emerging technology and its application to remain updated. The applications are available in a variety and in competitive brands. The obligation to be able to use or apply the variety of the applications can be difficult to comprehend, cause intimidation and stress. Insecurity is another impact of use of technology for present day students. Student qualification is related to the use of technology. Assignments, course work, teaching instructions and resources entail the use of technology. In the case of inability to efficiently use technology, the student may not qualify in their grade. The case is extended to acquisition of employment where employers want workers who are competent especially with the advanced technology. Inability to use technology comfortably and the need to use it very often can lead to tension which escalates to stress. There is so much uncertainty associated with technology. Technology is continuously shifting. New applications are developed before students gain substantive experience in a particular application. When new applications are invented the older ones become obsolete. Learning new application is exiting; however, the need to update the operating system application and energize becomes frustrating and anxiety and eventually stress. Use of technology has altered learning habits of concentrating on a specific task. Technology requires the students to share updates and engage in multitasking habits while learning. Consequently, sustained thoughts and creative thinking capabilities are not developed. The result is poor judgment and poor academic performance (Barley et al 2011, p 889). The education system has adapted technology in preparing the young professionals before they join their professions. The demand for changing to the new technology can affect the student if they are not able to access or purchase the technology. The students have devised ways of accessing the information system technology, because it has been incorporated into learning. Moreover, no for the technology standardization exists for the application or the technologies. In some cases, the hardware, the software or both are not reliable. Learning new technology can be challenging because there is lack of training. Technology interrupts students from learning emotional skills which cause emotional maturity. Technology exposes many different ways of solving problems using the vast information available in the internet. Students fail to discover that they cannot control events. The students using technology becomes emotionally detached from others and becomes anxious. Students are required to cope with technological development. Learning in two to four decades ago was not the same as today according to Conner (2012, p. 59). Although technology had been introduced, it was not actively used in learning. Learning was traditionally delivered and a few institutions had introduced e-learning. Students were used to obtaining instructions from the teacher and accessing reading materials from the library. The students would read available books and get ready for evaluation. Obtaining knowledge was not easily achieved because students had to get assistance from the librarian and look for the relevant topic personally. However, there was little information absorbed and used compared to the enormous information available on e-learning or internet. Students had learnt to collaborate with one another by working in teams of groups to solve problems and share ideas. Communication was not as fast as in the present day. Student would exchange information by word of mouth, telephone or fax. In the present students can send messages, email and chat on social media. Students can interact with one another while in different locations, unlike before where they would meet physically. To understand the difference that could cause the student to accumulate stress the learning methods with little or no technology use can be used to learning with technology. In the case of the subject students in the past were taught according to the manual or curriculum lesson at a time. On the other hand the students in the present take part in determining topics because the students have access to different sources of learning materials. In the past learning process emphasized completing the curriculum. A study required student to perform evidence based research only if necessary and were not involved in solving problems. Students in the present day are actively involved in evidence based research because they have all the necessary requirements to search and collect information. Availability of the information on technology causes students to connect with the real world, see real problem and come up with practical solutions. This process of learning exposes the student to pressure leading to stress. In the past the teacher had authority over the students while in the present day teachers lead students to obtain the information. The teacher give the learners additional assignment before which is completed during the personal time. The structure of a lesson was constant and stated the time clearly; use of technology in the present day is dynamic because there is communication and flexibility. The student would talk more in the class and have little time for interaction in the past. In the present day, students have access to reading materials and can prepare to revise and answer questions when they meet with the lecturer. Therefore, students in the past had to be physically in class for a lecture. In the present group discussion are very common (Ayyagari et al 2011, p. 831). Students using technology have unique problems that were not experienced by the students who did not use technology in learning. The problems are not specific to student but also to many users of technology. The compute may have incorrectly installed software, locked key board, error in programming, the information system may be down and data can be difficult to trace in the computer. In some cases the very low speed when loading a computer or program can test the student’s patience. Software should be compatible with the computer before students can begin using software. The instructions of the computer may be complicated in a manner that only experts can assist. Time spend is very high and concentrating can become a challenge. There are situations when the computer system or program can get locked up or crashes. Damaged storage can become frustrating if there is no back up, this is because data is lost. The information can give complicated information that requires the translation of the experts. Contacting experts can be challenging especially if there is limited time. The expectation for the student to be able to use the computer is very high and can be frustrating if there are issues in accessing information. The problems were not faced by students without technology; hence, present day university students carry the burden of the additional stress in their learning. When technology was introduced in the learning institutions, students were able to access learning resources at their convenience, easily and in different locations. Technology made it easy to obtain answers. Those developing stress because of technology complain of recurring headaches, insomnia, irritability, upset stomach, anxiety and deliberate denial to learn how to use computer software or application. Students without knowledge on how to control self and manage time when it comes to technology face difficulties when using technology. Students will be tempted to use many applications available on their computer, which will cause challenges. Delays on receiving email may cause restlessness which can be stressful. Technology further frustrates students since it promises to save time yet the time is used when learning updated programs and software. These problems become pronounced because there is dependency on technology when it comes to learning. Majority of students and lectures use technology for communication, teaching, and evaluation and to obtain feedback (Stranks, 2005). Students who have difficulties coping with technology can avoid and manage stress. Psychologically, students can assure self of stability and patience in a dynamic environment. Creating good relationships with peers and maintaining communication can be of assistance to the student when it comes to learning new applications for information system technology. Students can learn the discipline of using technology when necessary and efficiently. Efficiency can be achieved by maintaining a culture of continuous learning of available old and new applications. Students who cope with technology have a tendency of sharing technology. Sharing the knowledge with peers or other students will facilitate learning and help students cope with technology related stress (Brod 1984). Park and Jex (2011, p. 144) recommend that, students should use user friendly technology should be preferred over the complex technologies. Students should be willing to use help offered on the use of technology so that they can familiarize with the technology. Besides sharing knowledge, students can be experimental and learn innovative ways of using technology at their own time. 3. Conclusion. The introduction of technology has been made in the universities changing how the studies are conducted. Although, the technology has positive impacts, students in universities claim to have more stress than their grandparents. This is because technology introduced new challenges that were not experience. Technology has been accused of overload of information, invaded private lives and caused in securities for the learners. Additionally, technology is complex, is associated with uncertainty and requires continuous renewal as new application and software are updated. The constant desire to be connected can stimulate frustrating and anxiety causing stress. The computers error in program, application, locked key board and failure to obtain information can cause frustration. Instead of causing efficiency by saving time and accessing information, technology demands additional time for the users to learn new applications and software’s. The dependence on technology was not present in the future which can be identified as contributing factor to the increased stress. To reduce the challenges increased by the use of technology students in the university can practice using the technology very often. Students can also learn from each other, ask for assistance and use easy to use technology. Reference List Ayyagari, R., Grover, V., and Purvis, R. 2011. ‘Techno stress: Technological Antecedents and Implications.’ MIS Quarterly, 35(4), 831-858. Brod, C. 1984. Technostress: The Human Cost of the Computer Revolution. Addison Wesley Publishing. Barley, S.R., Grobal, S., and Meyerson, D.E. 2011. ‘E-mail as a Source and Symbol of Stress’. ‘’Journal of Organization Science, 22(4), 887-906. Conner, M. 2012. ‘Technostress, a Sign of the Times.’ American Fitness, 30 (4), 58-60. Park, Y., & Jex, S.M. 2011. ‘Work-Home Boundary Management Using Communication and Information Technology.’ International Journal of Stress Management, 18(2), 133-152. Stranks, J. W. 2005. Stress At Work: Management And Prevention. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier Science & Technology Books. Sorenson, D. R. 2007. ‘Stress management in education: warning signs and coping mechanisms.’ Management in education, 21(3), 10-13. Tarafdar, M., Tu Q., Ragu-Nathan, B.S., & Ragu-Nathan, T.S. 2011. ‘Crossing to the Dark Side: Examining Creators, Outcomes, and Inhibitors of Technostress.’ Communications of the ACM, 54(9), 113-120. Tarafdar, M., Tu Q., & Ragu-Nathan, T.S. 2010. ‘Impact of technostress on End-User Satisfaction and Performance.’ Journal of Management Information Systems, 27(3), 303- 334. Walz, K. 2012. Stress related issues due to too much technology: effects on working professionals. Providence: Johnson and Wales University Press. Read More