Prevalence of perceived stress, symptoms of depression and sleep disturbances in relation to information and communication technology (ICT) use among young adults – an explorative prospective study

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to prospectively investigate whether high quantity of information and communication technology (ICT) use is a risk factor for developing psychological symptoms among young ICT users. A cohort of college students responded to a questionnaire at baseline and at 1-year follow-up (n = 1127). Exposure variables, such as different types of ICT use, and effect variables, such as perceived stress, symptoms of depression and sleep disturbances, were assessed. Prevalence ratios were computed, based on symptom-free subjects at baseline and prevalence of symptoms at follow-up. For women, high combined use of computer and mobile phone at baseline was associated with increased risk of reporting prolonged stress and symptoms of depression at follow-up, and number of short message service (SMS) messages per day was associated with prolonged stress. Also online chatting was associated with prolonged stress, and e-mailing and online chatting were associated with symptoms of depression, while Internet surfing increased the risk of developing sleep disturbances. For men, number of mobile phone calls and SMS messages per day were associated with sleep disturbances. SMS use was also associated with symptoms of depression. The findings suggest that ICT may have an impact on psychological health, although causal mechanisms are unclear.

Introduction

Modern information and communication technology (ICT) provides a possibility for quick and direct interaction between users and gives access to enormous quantities of information. With modern ICT it is possible to be reached at all times, which brings the private and professional spheres closer together. Increased intensity in personal relations, role overload and contradictory demands in the different roles of the professional and private life can entail psychological stress (Bradley, 2000). Biocca (2000) discusses that the development of the Internet has opened up, within a short time, to immense quantities of information, which are impossible to encompass, and the prospect that the Internet will probably continue to grow at a rapid pace for at least another 10–20 years. The Internet and other aspects of ICT has had considerable effects on our lives and it has even been questioned whether the plasticity of the human brain, will lead to neuro-cognitive changes due to intense interaction with ICT (Biocca, 2000). Technostress is a term (Arnetz & Wikholm, 1997) that describes the state of mental and physiological arousal observed in persons who are heavily dependent on computers in their work. The term ICT stress has also been used (Johansson-Hidén, Wästlund, & Wallin, 2003) to describe the condition brought on by interruptions at work, time pressure and technical problems in connection with ICT use. One type of stressor involved in relation to ICT is information overload. Both the quantity and the quality of information is of significance; a high proportion of external stimulation correlates with measures of fatigue, and this was especially true if the information was considered unattractive (de Rijk, Schreurs, & Bensing, 1999). Even though there are filters that can be installed that filter unwanted information (Zhang & Seo, 2001), it is probable that the technical filters will still allow a large amount of information to pass through.

Quantity of visual display terminal (VDT) or computer use has been found to be related to both physical (Ekman et al., 2000, Gerr et al., 2002, Karlqvist et al., 2002, Punnett and Bergqvist, 1997) and psychological complaints (Aronsson et al., 1994, Nakazawa et al., 2002). Concerning psychological symptoms in relation to ICT, some focus has been on Internet use. For example, negative effects on social involvement and an increase in depression have been found among Internet users (Kraut et al., 1998), but these may have been specific to novice users (Kraut et al., 2002, LaRose et al., 2001). Low Internet users, as compared with high users, in a study of high school seniors, reported better relationships with their mothers and friends (Sanders, Field, Diego, & Kaplan, 2000). E-mailing (LaRose et al., 2001, Morgan and Cotten, 2003) and chatting online/instant messaging (Morgan & Cotten, 2003) have been found to be negatively associated with depressive symptoms, while Internet time spent on shopping, playing games or research has been associated with increased depressive symptoms (Morgan & Cotten, 2003). Individual characteristics are important for the development of stress (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) and depression (Tennant, 2001). This is also the case with regard to Internet use, especially where personal factors such as self-efficacy (LaRose et al., 2001, Salanova et al., 2002), introversion/extroversion (Kraut et al., 2002) and loneliness (Caplan, 2003, Morahan-Martin and Schumacher, 2003) are concerned. Other areas of study are complaints related to the use of Virtual Reality, including motion or simulator sickness (Nichols & Patel, 2002) and the risk of Internet addiction in its various forms (see, e.g., Griffiths (2002)). Griffiths (2002) points out that electronic bullying and persecution is an increasingly important issue for employers to handle.

The study of effects of mobile phone use concerns mainly electromagnetic exposure and discusses effects such as subjective symptoms (Willén, Sandström, & Mild, 2003) and altered attention (Edelstyn and Oldershaw, 2002, Lee et al., 2003) but also, cognitive load in relation to driving a car (Lamble, Kauranen, Laakso, & Summala, 1999). Use of mobile phones when driving have been reported to increase the risk of traffic accidents (Redelmeier & Tibshirani, 1997).

Of course, ICT use can also function as a temporary reduction of stress. In a web survey (Lavoie & Pychyl, 2001) about half of the respondents reported that they often used the Internet for this purpose and, furthermore, a large proportion of the time they were connected. Attitudes toward ICT seem to be two-sided (Gustafsson et al., 2003, Sjoberg and Fromm, 2001); many users are generally positive towards and see opportunities in connection with ICT, but also perceive risks.

Quantity as well as character of ICT use may apparently be associated with both physical and psychological well-being. Since ICT use is an increasing part of both leisure and working time, it is important to identify risk and health factors in connection with ICT to enable preventive and intervening approaches. This concerns both physical and psychological factors. Furthermore, there is a lack of prospective studies of young adults on the threshold to working life, concerning exposure to ICT.

The aim of this study was to prospectively examine whether high quantity of ICT use is a risk factor for developing psychological symptoms among young ICT users.

Section snippets

Subjects

The study base was a cohort of young ICT users recruited from student records off medical and IT related studies at colleges and universities in the south-west of Sweden. 1 728 college students were invited to respond to a screening questionnaire administered via the Internet. The questionnaire was mainly concerned with demographic data, ICT exposure, psychosocial factors and health situation. The response rate was 70%. At baseline the study population consisted of 1 204 college students (Fig. 1

Stress

Current stress. There was no clear association between any of the exposure variables and perceived current stress at 1-year follow-up (Table 3).

Continuous stress for more than 7 days during the past 12 months. High ICT and SMS use were associated with a higher risk of experiencing prolonged stress for the group as a whole (Table 4). When separately analyzing women and men, high ICT, chatting and SMS use were all associated with a higher risk of experiencing prolonged stress for women, while no

Discussion

In this explorative study a high sum of computer and mobile phone hours in a week (i.e. the combined ICT exposure variable) at baseline was associated with an increased risk of reporting prolonged stress and symptoms of depression at 1-year follow-up. Also, the number of SMS messages sent/received per day was associated with prolonged stress. Experiencing prolonged stress is a risk factor for metabolic syndrome and other types of disorders (Bjorntorp, Holm, Rosmond, & Folkow, 2000). Reporting

Acknowledgements

This study was financed by the Swedish Council for Working Life Research, as part of a major project (Productivity, health and creativity in relation to the use of computers, telecommunication and media – a 10-year cohort study) at the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Sahlgrenska Academy and University Hospital, Göteborg, Sweden. We want to thank those involved in the project: Gunnar Ahlborg, Christina Ahlstrand, Lotta Dellve, Maria Edlund, Kristina Glise, Per Godenius,

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