Digital Overload among College Students: Implications for Mental Health App Use

Abstract

Mental health phone applications (apps) provide cost-effective, easily accessible support for college students, yet long-term engagement is often low. Digital overload, defined as information burden from technological devices, may contribute to disengagement from mental health apps. This study aimed to explore the influence of digital overload and phone use preferences on mental health app use among college students, with the goal of informing how notifications could be designed to improve engagement in mental health apps for this population. A semi-structured interview guide was developed to collect quantitative data on phone use and notifications as well as qualitative data on digital overload and preferences for notifications and phone use. Interview transcripts from 12 college students were analyzed using thematic analysis. Participants had high daily phone use and received large quantities of notifications. They employed organization and management strategies to filter information and mitigate the negative effects of digital overload. Digital overload was not cited as a primary barrier to mental health app engagement, but participants ignored notifications for other reasons. Findings suggest that adding notifications to mental health apps may not substantially improve engagement unless additional factors are considered, such as users’ motivation and preferences.

Digital interventions to address mental health needs in colleges: Perspectives of student stakeholders

“…Similarly, experience with a self-help program with brief coach support, a type of DMHI with considerable evidence-base, was modest. Recently, U.S. college students have described using games, entertainment apps, and social media apps to manage their mental health, as opposed to, for example, evidence-based apps targeting specific problems ( Smith et al, 2021 ). Students' views and uptake of DMHIs may be different and extend beyond evidenced-based DMHIs prioritized by policy makers.…”

“…Consistent with clients' and clinicians' understanding of DMHIs, we included text and other synchronous messaging as a DMHI ( Lattie et al, 2020 ). We also examined potential technology-related determinants of using DMHIs (e.g., data plans; digital overload ( Misra and Stokols, 2011 ; Smith et al, 2021 )). Qualitative data included open-ended comments about standard mental health services and a self-help program with brief coach guidance.…”

Development of an mHealth App–Based Intervention for Depressive Rumination (RuminAid): Mixed Methods Focus Group Evaluation

“…Although only a minority of focus group participants commented on the "time gating" involved in RuminAid (ie, restricting users from moving from one quest to the next for a period of 1 week), this feedback highlighted potential frustration and loss of interest that might result from this restriction. This is reflected in the literature, which indicates that people use phone apps sporadically [23,[88][89][90], and in lay commentary, which suggested that people dislike apps and games with time-gated content [91]. In addition, attrition tends to be high in mHealth interventions [92][93][94].…”

Classroom Digital Teaching and College Students’ Academic Burnout in the Post COVID-19 Era: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…With multiple learning systems and faculty management systems guiding the entire process, the college students’ entire academic careers are being digitized. This “digital overload” potentially negatively impacts the mental health of college students [ 9 ].…”