Digital stress patterns can look different for everyone. Taking a few minutes to map out your experience of digital stress is a worthwhile investment in your well-being. Research shows that there is a connection between heavy social media use and vulnerability to feeling depressed, anxious, and stressed. 

To support your journey towards more digital peace, this activity focuses on two types of digital stress that may be showing up in your life. After exploring Activity 1 try this exercise if your scores were greater than 2 for either stress type in this activity.

1. Availability stress

Availability stress describes the pressure you may feel to always be reachable. This pressure to feel reachable is common and can vary in intensity throughout the day. To move towards digital peace, you can start by learning the signals that indicate your stress about being available has crossed a line for your well-being. 

Answer the following questions, then spend a few moments journaling in response to the prompt below to better understand your patterns.

  • Do you feel like you have to respond to notifications, even when you’d rather not?
  • Do you experience stress even after you’ve replied?
  • Does stress pull your attention away from other things that matter to you?

Journal prompt: If these stressors are showing up, what do they look like in your life right now? If these stressors are not showing up, what are you doing that’s working? How might the protective steps below change your level of availability stress?

2. Connection Overload

Connection overload refers to the pressure that may build from the amount of time you spend on social media and the frequency of your use. This sense of overload can be created by notifications, messages, posts, or other platform features. The pressure you may feel is common and can vary in intensity based on what you are managing each day. To move towards digital peace, you can start by learning the signals indicating that connection overload is crossing the line and affecting your emotional well-being. 

Answer the following questions, and then spend a few moments journaling in response to the prompt below to better understand your patterns.

  • Do you often feel overwhelmed by the number of notifications of messages and posts?
  • Does the stress stick around even after you’ve cleared the updates?
  • Is the stream of platform updates pulling your focus away from things that matter to you?

Journal prompt: If these signals are showing up, what do they look like in your life right now? If they are not, what are you doing that’s working? How might the protective steps below change your level of connection overload?

Explore all of the Liberate content about digital peace activities:

References 

  • Steele, R.G., Hall, J.A. & Christofferson, J.L. Conceptualizing Digital Stress in Adolescents and Young Adults: Toward the Development of an Empirically Based Model. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 23, 15–26 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-019-00300-5
  • Hall, J. A., Steele, R. G., Christofferson, J. L., & Mihailova, T. (2021). Development and initial evaluation of a multidimensional digital stress scale. Psychological Assessment, 33(3), 230–242. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0000979 
  • Shannon H, Bush K, Villeneuve P, Hellemans K, Guimond S Problematic Social Media Use in Adolescents and Young Adults: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis JMIR Ment Health 2022;9(4):e33450 URL: https://mental.jmir.org/2022/4/e33450 DOI: 10.2196/33450

 

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    My Digital Sanctuary brings information and creativity together to support soul care, a holistic approach to emotional, physical and spiritual well-being from the Steve Fund. Created by mental health experts who specialize in serving young people of color and their families, My Digital Sanctuary shares the help, hope, and healing we need not just to survive but to thrive.