Perception
“It’s all under control”
According to the representative IU study, almost three-quarters of people in Germany feel that they are able to control the extent to which digital devices influence their daily lives. The older the respondents, the more likely they are to agree with this statement.
Question: To what extent do you agree with the following statement? “I believe that I am able to control the extent to which digital devices influence my daily life.”
Excerpt from the statements included in the survey
No smartphone? No problem, say many people
Almost two-thirds of the respondents say it is not a problem if their smartphone is not within reach.
For more than a third, this is not the case: 35.7% agree that they get agitated if they do not have easy access to their smartphone. Among adults aged up to 30, as many as 43.3% say they soon feel agitated without a smartphone.
Question: To what extent do you agree with the following statement? “I soon start to feel agitated if my smartphone is not within reach.”
Excerpt from the statements included in the survey; only respondents who have a smartphone
Being available online doesn’t really bother most people
When asked about the stress caused by being constantly available online in everyday life, many respondents seem unfazed, with only 26.7% saying it puts them under some or a great deal of stress. However, the study also shows that the younger the respondents, the more likely they are to perceive this as being a significant stressor.
Question: How much stress does being constantly available online cause you in your daily life?
Digital stress is often taken lightly. Due to normalisation, habituation, social norms and the belief that they can control their own usage at all times, many people do not even notice the strain at first. Yet our everyday digital lives are filled with tiny digital distractions, such as push notifications or incoming messages that, when added up, really start to take their toll. An intention-behaviour gap develops. We tell ourselves, ‘it doesn’t bother me,’ but in everyday life, it’s hard to ignore. This effect is particularly prevalent among younger people – the younger they are, the more frequently they report feeling digital stress. This is probably because this age group has grown up with digital media and has internalised the associated habits at an early age.”
Prof. Dr Timo Kortsch
Professor of Business Psychology at IU International University of Applied Sciences
Reality
Is your smartphone causing you stress? The little things add up
The findings above suggest that people in Germany are not stressed by their mobile phones or other digital devices. However, a closer look at individual aspects of digital device use paints a different picture. Many people certainly find the disruptions caused by everyday digital stimuli, such as push notifications or incoming messages – as described by Prof. Dr Timo Kortsch – to be stressful or distracting.
Question: To what extent do you agree with the following statements?
Excerpts from the statements included in the survey; only the answers “completely agree” and “tend to agree” on a scale of 1 to 4
² Only respondents who have a smartphone
56.0 %
All respondents
“I’d like to be offline more often than I am.”
Question: To what extent do you agree with the following statement?
Excerpts from the statements included in the survey; only the answers “completely agree” and “tend to agree” on a scale of 1 to 4
68.2 %
Respondents
16–30 years
62.1 %
Respondents
31–45 years
50.0 %
Respondents
46–60 years
Respondents
61–65 years
More than half of the respondents would like to spend more time offline, but are unable to do so. This does not indicate a lack of awareness, but rather intense external pressure: social norms, the need to be available for work and the fear of missing out (FOMO). Underlying this are complex psychological mechanisms that go beyond individual behaviour.”
Prof. Dr Timo Kortsch
Professor of Business Psychology at IU International University of Applied Sciences
