TechnoStress and 3rd Party TechnoStress

This study investigated if the advances in technology in recent years have increased or decreased the levels of technostress that users have. This study also explores an original concept known as 3rd party technostress, which shows the levels of stress technology causes not to the users but to the people around the users. To fairly compare levels of technostress over time, the GATCS (General Attitudes Towards Computer Scale) questionnaire from Rosen and Weil’s (1995) original study will be used and a comparison of their results and this studies’ results will be completed. An original set of questions will also be sent to determine the levels of 3rd party technostress and also the levels of technology addiction the participants have. The results from these question sets will show if there is any correlation between technostress and technology addicts. The researcher received 102 completed questionnaires, which gave a good sample for this study to be based on. From the data, it was clear that although technostress is still a major concern, with 44% of people showing signs of technostress, a bigger issue is the fact that 81% of participants showed some levels of 3rd party technostress. 3rd party technostress can have a huge impact on friendships and relationships. This study concluded, that with the rapid advancements in technology over the recent years, many more people have been engrossed in using the technology even during socially unacceptable times, which can upset people around them. Overusing technology may be an addiction that has to be acknowledged and managed by the user. As this is an original topic, much more research needs to be undertaken to fully understand 3rd party technostress