What is digital stress?
Digital technologies make our daily lives easier, but at the same time they can create new sources of stress. Digital stress arises primarily when digital demands consistently require more energy than we have available to manage them.
1. Constant Availability
A message on WhatsApp, a new email, or the next notification: In theory, other people can reach us around the clock these days. And that’s exactly what can give rise to a feeling many of us are familiar with: I have to respond. Yet this expectation doesn’t even have to come from outside ourselves. Sometimes, just the thought that a message is sitting unanswered on our smartphone is enough. We keep checking our phones, quickly reply in between other tasks, and as a result, our minds remain constantly “on standby.” It becomes particularly difficult when the boundaries between work and leisure time blur. Work emails end up on our personal smartphones, messages are read even after work, and even while on the couch, part of us still feels available. As a result, our minds lack something crucial: a clear moment when they know that today is truly over.
2. Information Overload and Constant Interruptions
Never before have we had such quick access to so much information. Emails, messages, social media, news, videos, and podcasts provide us with a nearly uninterrupted stream of new input. The problem isn’t necessarily a single piece of information—it’s the sheer volume. While you’re working on a task, a message pops up. You take a quick look, then switch to your emails, and a few minutes later find yourself back at your original task. There, you first have to remind yourself where you actually left off. The more frequently such interruptions occur, the harder it can become to stay focused on one thing for an extended period of time. At the end of the day, you may have been constantly busy and still feel like you’ve barely accomplished anything.
3. FOMO and the Pressure Not to Miss Out
What’s happened since you last checked your smartphone? Maybe there’s a new message. A new post. A piece of news everyone’s talking about right now. FOMO stands for “Fear of Missing Out”—the fear of missing out on something. It can lead us to check our smartphones over and over again, even though there’s actually no specific reason to do so. This becomes especially apparent during quiet moments. You’re waiting for the bus, standing in line, or sitting on the couch for a few minutes—and almost automatically, your hand reaches for your smartphone. As a result, those little breaks in our daily lives—when nothing demands our attention—disappear. Instead of peace and quiet, the next distraction follows.
How can I recognize digital stress?
Digital stress can manifest itself mentally, physically, and in your behavior. What matters isn’t so much a single symptom as whether you notice certain changes happening to you time and time again.
1. You can’t mentally switch off anymore
Your laptop is closed. Your smartphone is lying next to you. Technically, you’re off work. Yet your mind keeps racing. You think about an unanswered message, mentally go through your emails again, or feel the urge to check “just quickly” to see if anything new has come in. This feeling of constantly being “on call” can be an early sign that your digital daily life leaves too little room for true relaxation. After all, “switching off” doesn’t just mean turning off the screen. Your mind also needs the chance to go offline.
2. You become restless or irritable more quickly
One more message. One more email. One more notification. Things that you normally barely notice can suddenly start to get on your nerves. You react more irritably to interruptions, become more impatient, or feel tense inside. At the same time, a contradiction sometimes arises: All those notifications stress you out—yet you can hardly ignore them. You might also feel restless when your smartphone isn’t available. Maybe you just want to quickly check if someone has messaged you, or you notice that you find it hard to go without looking at the screen for any length of time.
3. Your concentration is waning
You’re reading the same paragraph for the third time. You start a task, switch to a message, and then quickly open your emails. At some point, you ask yourself: What was I actually trying to do just now? Frequent digital interruptions can make it harder to stay focused on one thing for a long time. Constantly switching between different tasks is particularly problematic. You may be active all day, but your attention is scattered across many small tasks. A possible warning sign, therefore, is the feeling of being constantly busy yet barely productive.
4. Your Body Makes Its Presence Known
Digital stress doesn’t happen exclusively in your head. A demanding digital daily routine can also be accompanied by physical symptoms. These can include, for example, fatigue, exhaustion, headaches, or sleep problems. After long days spent staring at a screen, additional strain often sets in. Your eyes feel tired, your neck and shoulders are tense, or your body feels stiff. It’s important to note, however, that such symptoms aren’t automatically a sign of digital stress. Headaches, tension, or sleep problems can have many different causes. Sitting for long periods, lack of exercise, or poor posture at work can also play a role. That’s why the pattern is particularly telling: Do these symptoms occur especially frequently on days when you spend a long time in front of screens, are constantly available, and take hardly any digital breaks?
5. You’re tired, but your mind stays active
You lie down in bed and are actually exhausted. Yet you reach for your smartphone one more time. Just to quickly check your messages. Watch one more video. Scroll through social media one more time. Afterward, the phone may be put away—but your mind keeps going. Especially when the entire day has been filled with information and new stimuli, the transition from activity to rest can be difficult. Thoughts keep circling, and the feeling of truly winding down doesn’t set in right away. If you regularly notice that you’re physically tired but can hardly calm your mind, it might be worth taking a closer look at your daily digital routine—and especially your evening habits.
An Overview of Stress Symptoms
How does digital stress change our behavior?
Digital stress sometimes manifests less through clear symptoms than through small changes in daily life. Habits that we hardly ever question can be clues that digital media are increasingly dominating our attention.
1. You automatically reach for your smartphone
How often do you pick up your smartphone without first consciously deciding what you actually want to do on it? Especially during brief moments of waiting or boredom, this reflexive reach often happens completely automatically. At first, there’s nothing unusual about this. It becomes a concern, however, when such small breaks are hardly possible without digital input. After all, our daily lives need more than just planned periods of rest. Even those seemingly insignificant minutes in between give our minds a chance to process impressions and, for a moment, not have to take in anything new.
2. You also spend your breaks online
After a long stretch of work, you want to unwind for a bit—and end up on social media, YouTube, or a news feed. This can certainly feel relaxing. At the same time, your brain remains occupied with new content. If nearly every break is filled with a screen, you may be missing exactly what you actually need: a break from new stimuli and information. It can therefore be interesting to pay attention to how you feel after taking a digital break. Do you actually feel more refreshed—or does your mind feel even more cluttered?
3. You spend more time online than you actually intend to
“Just five minutes” turns into twenty. One video turns into four. And even though you actually wanted to put your smartphone away, you keep scrolling. Almost everyone is familiar with situations like these. They become particularly relevant when a gap increasingly opens up between your actual intention and your behavior. Maybe you want to go offline earlier in the evening. Maybe you don’t want to look at your smartphone while eating or want to spend less time on social media—but you keep finding that it’s hard for you. In that case, the question “How much screen time do I have?” isn’t as important as: Do I still feel like I’m in control of my digital usage?
4. You Avoid Moments of Idleness
When was the last time you waited somewhere without reading, watching, or listening to something? Our smartphones make it possible to fill nearly every spare moment. Boredom can be dispelled in a matter of seconds. However, this can also change how we perceive quiet. A moment without activity suddenly feels unfamiliar—perhaps even uncomfortable. That doesn’t mean you have to be bored on purpose. But if silence immediately triggers the urge to reach for your smartphone, it can be interesting to consciously observe this habit for a change
Why is it so hard for us to disconnect from the digital world?
Digital stress isn’t simply a matter of a lack of self-discipline. Our digital daily lives intertwine communication, work, entertainment, and social interactions—often all on a single device.
1. There are hardly any natural boundaries left
Our smartphones don’t stay in the office when we finish work for the day. They sit on the table during dinner, accompany us on the couch, and are often right next to the bed in the morning. As a result, we now have to create some of the boundaries ourselves that used to arise automatically. This applies in particular to the separation between work and leisure time. A work-related message can, within seconds, pull your mind back to work—even though your workday is long over. However, being reachable and being available are two different things. Just because a message can reach you doesn’t mean you have to respond immediately.
2. Digital content rarely has an endpoint
A chapter ends. A movie has closing credits. A newspaper has a final page. Many digital platforms work differently. You can keep scrolling through social media feeds; one video ends and the next one starts; and new content is already waiting right after a message. As a result, there’s often no natural moment that signals, “That’s it.” We have to set the endpoint ourselves. And that’s exactly what can be difficult—especially when we’re tired and really just want to unwind a little.
3. Going offline has become a conscious decision
Being online happens almost automatically these days. Being unreachable, on the other hand, is often a choice we have to make actively. That makes a big difference. After all, relaxation doesn’t have to start with a multi-day digital detox. It can begin in small moments when nothing demands our attention. Our smartphones don’t have to disappear from our lives for that to happen. What’s much more important is that we regain control over when we want to be online—and when we don’t.
What helps combat digital stress?
Digital stress cannot be avoided by completely banishing digital media from our daily lives. What’s much more important is using them mindfully—and even small changes can help bring more calm back into our digital daily lives.
1. Turn off unnecessary notifications
Not every message requires your immediate attention. Nevertheless, push notifications cause your gaze to wander back to your smartphone time and again—often regardless of whether the information is actually important at that moment. So consider which apps really need to notify you right away. With many apps, you can easily disable push notifications and decide for yourself when you want to check for new content. Your smartphone will then no longer dictate when you interrupt your focus with every flash or vibration. Instead, you’ll make more conscious decisions about when to address a message.
2. Schedule intentional offline time
Offline time doesn’t have to mean going without your smartphone for an entire day. Often, shorter periods throughout the day are much more realistic. This could be, for example, the first half-hour in the morning, your lunch break, or a specific time in the evening. You can also consciously keep your smartphone out of reach while eating. What matters less is how long these periods last. Rather, it’s about regularly creating moments when you don’t have to be reachable and don’t have to take in any new information.
3. Take Breaks Without New Input
A break from your laptop isn’t necessarily a break for your mind if you reach for your smartphone right afterward. So try to actually spend some of your breaks screen-free. Go outside for a few minutes, get something to drink, stretch, or just look out the window. That sounds unspectacular—and that’s exactly the point. Not every free minute has to be filled. Especially when your day is already packed with information, a good break can mean getting less input—rather than more—for a moment.
4. Set clear boundaries for your availability
Just because you’re technically reachable doesn’t mean you have to be available at all times. Especially when it comes to work-related messages, setting a clear boundary after work hours can be helpful. For example, you can disable work notifications, use “Do Not Disturb” mode, or set a time after which you won’t open work emails anymore. Even in your personal life, you don’t have to reply to every message right away. A reply can wait. Setting clear boundaries can help reduce the internal pressure to respond and allow you to make more conscious decisions about when you want to be reachable and when your time belongs to you.
5. End the day on a digitally calmer note
If your day has already been filled with plenty of digital stimuli, the last hour before bed doesn’t have to be packed with new information as well. So try to create a conscious transition in the evening. For example, you can switch your smartphone to “Do Not Disturb” mode earlier or keep it out of direct view. This isn’t about having a perfect evening routine, nor is it about banning your smartphone from the bedroom altogether. The key is to find a habit that makes it easier for you personally to wind down. Because sometimes, at the end of a busy day, our minds need one thing above all else: the feeling that we don’t have to respond to, read, or take in anything else today.
Five Steps to Digital Peace
