Well-known phenomenon, new setting: Digital stress in times of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Digital stress caused by the proliferation and omnipresence of digital media has been attracting scientific interest for several years. The physical contact restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic have further increased the importance of digital media in people’s professional and private lives. This article investigates the consequences of this new situation for people’s perceptions of digital stress. It applies a lifeworld perspective and considers several individual and situational factors. Our study was based on semi-structured interviews with German adults. Five key findings emerged: (1) during the pandemic, digital stress was predominantly caused by home office work; (2) already-known stressors were amplified in home offices; (3) digital devices contributed to the dissolution of boundaries between work and private life; (4) people experienced multiple stressors simultaneously, both digital and analog; (5) the private use of digital media was not associated with stress but perceived as saving social connections. Furthermore, the results show that the experience of digital stress is highly dependent on situational contexts and individual lifestyles.