Online stress and offline stress: Uniqueness, differences, and cumulative effect on multiple well-being outcomes

Abstract

There is an increasing interaction between our offline and online lives, which puts forward a challenge to understanding the relationship between stress and health, as online and offline stress may be mixed. This study used 4,127 adolescents to test the uniqueness of online stress, the distinction between online and offline stress, and their co-occurrence and cumulative effects. The results showed that after controlling for offline stress, online stress still contributed to multiple well-being outcomes. Correspondence analysis revealed that online stress was more similar to daily hassles/perceived stress (global stress) compared to major life events. Latent profile analysis (LPA) revealed that adolescents who experienced certain levels of offline stress also experienced similar levels of online stress, indicating that they co-occur. Besides, the predictions of online and the three types of offline stress are consistent with the cumulative damage hypothesis of stress. Its theoretical and practical implications are discussed.