Exploring college students’ technostress phenomenon in using ed-tech

Abstract

The intense use of technology might lead students to technostress. The present study intends to figure out the technostress experienced by university students on educational technology (ed-tech) used in their academic environment and the factors underlying the stress. A qualitative approach with a case study method was used to investigate those issues. An open-ended questionnaire was administered to gather the data. 46 students in the 5th semester majoring in the management study program of one private college in Garut, West Java, participated in this study. The findings revealed that from the facets of technostress, most of the students do not experience intense technostress due to habitual use of ed-tech, campus reasonable policy or demand, simplicity of university-proposed technology, lecturers' instructions, and peer abetment. However, the rest of the participants feel the force of using ed-tech, which is attributable to the shortage of campus facilities, the absence of comprehensive ed-tech guidance, lecturers' tendency for traditional instruction, the students’ insufficient technological competence, the matter of self-confidence and motivation, and health concerns. Potential implications for higher education institutions as the policymakers are discussed.