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There are many terms for all the problems associated 

with the tsunami of information and the convenience to 

access it, but the one term that sums it all up is techno-

stress, which is the feeling of being overwhelmed with 

sensory bombardment from the online technology. 

 Factors contributing to techno-stress include, but are not 

limited to, privacy issues, identity theft, smartphone radi-

ation, Internet scams, bandwidth, Internet gambling and 

pornography addiction, and child access to adult content. 

Perhaps the most widespread stress from technology that 

most people experience is the perpetual distraction of 

emails and text messages and the replacement of face-to-

face conversation with digital communications.

Research from the University of California at Irvine 

reveals that the constant interruption of emails triggers 

the stress response, with the subsequent release of stress 

hormones affecting short-term memory. And if you 

ever wondered if people, perhaps even yourself, seem 

addicted to checking emails, voice mails, or tweets, con-

sider this fact: research shows that the receipt of emails 

and tweets is accompanied by a release of dopamine. 

Dopamine, a “feel-good” neurotransmitter, is associated 

with chemical addictions. In the absence of dopamine 

release, boredom ensues, until the next fix. Every abrupt 

shift in the history of societies has had its associated 

stressors; for example, the shift from agrarian to indus-

trial society was correlated with a dramatic increase in 

alcoholism, regarded as a “social disease” of its time. 

In today’s abrupt shift to online technology and social 

media, the online technology is itself the addiction.

Young people today who never knew life without a 

smartphone or iPad don’t understand why older adults 

seem so concerned about their addictive tech habits. 

Meanwhile, adults now notice that children and teens 

raised with screen technology may be well versed in 

cyber-communication skills, yet socially immature 

with face-to-face communication skills, including 

using eye contact.

Since the advent of smartphones, several new terms 

have been created to capture the behaviors associated 

with them. With the phenomenon known as screen 

addictions, we now have “digital toxicity” (neuro-

logical stress or burnout from the constant engage-

ment [neuroplasticity] with smartphones and other 

devices). In essence, the brain becomes wired for stress 

through technology. “Digital dementia” is a term used 

to describe people who rely so much on their smart-

phones and digital devices that they don’t give their 

no one is exempt from the sociology of stress. Whether 

we like it or not, we are all connected to each other. 

Are you a product of your culture? To get a better idea, 

please complete the survey found in Exercise 1.6.

Perhaps the sociology of stress can best be acknowl-

edged through the newest buzzword, “social net-

working,” with the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Skype, 

YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, and new social media 

and networking outlets taking shape on the cyber-

horizon. Technology has even changed how people 

converse at dinner parties (e.g., one person asks a ques-

tion and five people pull out their smartphones and 

Google the answer). Technology, the economy, and the 

environment have become significant threads of the 

social fabric.

Techno-Stress

The tsunami of cyber-information has been building 

for years, yet the first devastating wave seems to have 

hit the shores of the human mind in earnest about 

the same time Facebook hit a billion users in 2010, 

the same year that the Swiss Army Knife included 

a USB drive for “survival.” Although information 

overload, privacy, ethics, and bandwith are issues for 

many, deeper problems are coming to the surface in 

the age of iPads and smartphones. The cyber-alchemy 

of tweets, Facebook updates, Skype messages, text 

messages, and the deluge of emails has hit a critical 

mass of annoyance for some and addiction for a great 

many people who are fed up with giving their lives 

over to technology. The growing dependence on tech-

nology has even inspired a term: screen addiction. If 

it’s not computer screens and smartphones, it’s iPads 

and Bluetooth technology, none of which are bad, 

but can become problematic if your life is completely 

 centered around being plugged in all the time. The 

perfect storm of stress is the overwhelming amount of 

information available, the distractive nature of being 

plugged in 24/7, a sense of alienation, and the poor 

boundaries people maintain to regulate this infor-

mation. The concept of poor boundaries is shown by 

nearly all college students who text during classroom 

lectures as well as the scores of people who bring all 

their technology with them on vacation, thus never 

separating work from leisure, and possibly compro-

mising both. Similarly, fewer than half of employees 

nationwide leave their desk/workstation during lunch 

hour, according to a Manpower survey, leading to 

higher stress levels and fatigue (Marquardt, 2010).

 

The Nature of Stress

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told to pack up and leave during the 2012 London 

Olympics (some missing their events) for inappropriate 

“tweets” considered not only rude, inappropriate, and 

racially offensive, but a violation against the ethics of 

the International Olympic Committee standards to 

which these athletes take an oath. How did things go 

so wrong? Some people blame poor parenting skills. 

Many cite talk radio and various news media outlets 

that broadcast incivility. Others point their finger at 

the proliferation of technology and the constant self-

promotion that seems to go along with it (Meyer, 2008). 

Many say the perfect storm of “uncivil Americans” is 

a combination of all these factors. Noting the serious 

issue of American incivility, Rutgers University has 

initiated a one-credit course called Project Civility for 

students, with topics ranging from smartphone eti-

quette and cyber-bullying to civil sportsmanship and 

social responsibility. It is likely that other colleges will 

follow this trend.

According to a study by the New York Times, the 

average young American now spends every waking 

minute (with the possible exception of school classes) 

using a smartphone, computer, television, or other 

electronic device. Adults appear to be no different. It 

is not uncommon to see people texting while at movie 

theaters, talking on smartphones in restaurants (despite 

signs prohibiting their use), and texting while driving 

(despite the growing number of state laws banning 

this behavior). In 2006, researchers at the  University 

of Utah were curious to see if the distraction of smart-

phone use while driving was similar to driving while 

under the influence of alcohol. Using driving simu-

lators it was revealed that people on smartphones 

show a driving impairment rate similar to a blood 

alcohol level of 0.08 percent, the demarcation of drunk 

driving in the majority of states in the United States. 

Although many people may recognize the dangers of 

talking and driving, few offer to give up this mode of 

multi-tasking.

Many people use technology to avoid stressful situ-

ations, again adding to a general lack of civility in 

society. Examples include quitting a job with a tweet, 

breaking up with a girlfriend/boyfriend on Facebook, 

or sending a derogatory email and blind-copying 

everyone in one’s address book. The modern lack of 

civility cannot be blamed entirely on technology, yet 

the dramatic rise in the use of communication devices 

has played its part. How would you rate your current 

level of social etiquette?

brains time to store information from short-term to 

long-term memory. And finally, “FOMO” (fear of 

missing out) is the term for anxious behaviors associ-

ated with an addiction where the ego needs to be fully 

engaged with social networking.

The boom in the telecommunications industry and com-

puter industry, pillars of the information age, have led to 

an overnight lifestyle change in U.S. and global society. 

In their book Technostress, authors Weil and Rosen 

(1998) suggest that the rapid pace of technology will only 

 continue with greater speed in the coming years, giving 

a whole new meaning to the expression “24/7.” Their 

suggestions have proved quite true. They predict, as do 

others, that the majority of people will not deal well with 

this change. The result will be more stress, more illness 

and disease, more addictions, more dysfunction, and a 

greater imbalance in people’s lives. There is general con-

sensus that the rate of change with technology has far 

outpaced the level of responsibility and moral codes that 

typically accompany the creative process. Exercise 1.6 

invites you to examine your techno-stress level.

The Rise of Incivility

Have you noticed that people today seem quick-tem-

pered, impatient, cynical, self-centered, and perhaps 

even rude at times? If you have, you are not alone. 

Civility, as expressed through social etiquette, refers to 

the practice of good manners and appropriate behavior. 

Many consider basic rules of civility to be sorely lacking 

in today’s culture. Experts attribute the lack of civility 

to an alchemy of narcissism and a national lack of 

values, contributing not only to social unease, but also 

to the economic mess that created the Great Recession 

of 2008. Moreover, a revolution in the way people com-

municate with each other over the past few years has 

dramatically changed the social fabric of our culture, 

particularly how we relate, or fail to relate, to each 

other in face-to-face situations. Instant accessibility 

has sown the seeds of impatience. Politeness has given 

way to rudeness. Internet rants and talk-radio phone 

calls carry over into face-to-face shouting matches at 

sporting events and political rallies. Social manners 

(e.g., appropriate behavior and thinking of others first) 

have become minimal if not obsolete for many people, 

particularly when bursts of anger perpetuate feelings of 

victimization. Today’s self-centered, narcissistic indul-

gences have hit an all-time high, many of which are 

directly related to political incivility. Incivility seems 

to be a global issue as well. Several star athletes were 

Chapter 1

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