Impact of technostress on academic productivity of university students

Abstract

There has been increasing interest among researchers to understand the negative effects of technology, in the last two decades. Technostress or stress induced due to technology is extensively reported in the literature, among working professionals. Even though there has been an increased proliferation of digital devices in academia, there is a dearth of studies examining the prevalence of technostress and its impact among students. This study examines the prevalence of technostress among the younger population, in the age group of 18–28 years. Using a sample of 673 Indian private university students, this study cross-validated the technostress instrument. Increased use of technology in higher education has compelled students to complete all their academic work, including assessments, using technology. Technology-enhanced learning applications such as learning management systems, MOOCs and digital exam devices require students to develop ICT skills. The study also investigates the impact of technostress on the academic productivity of students. Findings reveal that the technostress instrument is valid to be used in the academic context, with minor modifications, and students experienced moderate levels of technostress. It was also found that technostress had a negative impact on the academic productivity of students.

Technology-Induced Stress, Sociodemographic Factors, and Association with Academic Achievement and Productivity in Ghanaian Higher Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Notwithstanding, ICTs come with benefits for students demonstrated via performance improvements, saving institutional resources and time, high student satisfaction [13,14], convenience, flexibility, and extended access to quality learning support [15]. ICT allows universities to streamline institutional management, increase openness, and accelerate students' academic data processing [16,17]. These benefits are said to advance the learning and teaching process [18].…”

Understanding Technostress During the Era of Covid-19: A Conceptual Paper

“…From these limitations, it is suggested that subsequent studies include eLearning as the factors that prohibit technostress and expand investigations to see whether the "online" elements in eLearning could bring any differences in technostress level. Future researchers could look at whether learning a technical skill online help to reduce technostress as proven by previous studies (Chiappetta, 2017;Joo et al, 2016;La Torre et al, 2019;Upadhyaya & Vrinda, 2021) or spiking anxiety higher and make technostress worsen. Furthermore, a longitudinal study could be conducted to see the frequency of training and technical support an employee needs to reduce their technostress.…”

“…Technostress prohibitors also can be known as coping behaviour (Tarafdar et al, 2019) which refers to an organisational mechanism that reduces stress and anxiety among employees towards technology (Ragu-Nathan et al, 2008). Three major components in si+++tuational prohibitor could be coping strategies towards technostress creator; literacy facilitation (Ragu-Nathan et al, 2008), technical support (Bondanini et al, 2020;Joo et al, 2016;Li & Wang, 2021;Ragu-Nathan et al, 2008) and training (Joo et al, 2016;La Torre et al, 2020;Upadhyaya & Vrinda, 2021).…”

“…Training has been known as one of the effective tools in enhancing employees' skills and reducing anxiety at the workplace. In the effort of reducing and managing technostress, providing adequate training to users is still relevant as one of the alternatives (Upadhyaya & Vrinda, 2021). This is because, implementation-related technostress has often been attributed to inadequate training and a lack of post-implementation knowledge-support activities (Chiappetta, 2017;La Torre et al, 2019).…”

“…Technological fluency also plays important role in determining the individual level of technostress and their tolerance towards it. The present generation is often referred to as "digital natives" (Upadhyaya & Vrinda, 2021), leading to the assumption that their acceptance of technology is higher. It is found that individuals with higher confidence in their ability to use ICTs experience less technostress (Ragu-Nathan et al, 2008).…”