You Left Me On Read: Expectations for Instant Availability by melinda
lu
| design by bella hung
With the speed and convenience of modern
technology, we have come to rely on virtual communication now more than ever, especially due to the stay-at-home regulations of the pandemic. As the swiftness of technological communication has increased, however, so have expectations for the promptness of our response times. But simply because technology has enabled us to fire off messages in the span of a second doesn’t necessarily mean we should be expected to. This article will examine the circumstantial factors that induce technology burnout while discussing strategies to prevent it.
telepressure-induced burnout The pressure we feel to respond to messages immediately after we receive them is a phenomenon dubbed “telepressure.”1 This compulsion to dispatch speedy replies is a product of both society’s gravitation towards forms of high-speed communication and our perception of those we communicate with as being impatient for our responses. Because digital avenues that allow for instant communication like text, email, direct messages, and so on have become so heavily relied-upon, there are unrealistic expectations to render ourselves constantly available, ready to respond to messages immediately upon reception. Virtual communication platforms that host multiple workspaces, like Slack or Discord, for example, can be sources of overwhelming pressure just from the sheer amount of notifications they send out. All this pressure can greatly heighten communication-related stress and can even lead to burnout, where we feel the desire to withdraw from or even avoid online engagements.1 According to Northern Illinois University psychology professor Dr. Larissa Barber, college students are one of the groups most highly affected by telepressure. Because we are so heavily engaged in social media and other forms of telecommunication and spend most of our time attached to devices that facilitate them, we feel it is expected of us to keep up.1
A fourth-year UCLA Human Biology and Society student added: “Because of the pandemic, there’s this pressure to be on devices at all times, which sometimes makes me feel guilty for taking breaks. I tell myself to unplug and relax, but even after I’ve logged off, I’m thinking about what I have to do the next time I log on.”
photo: anthony tran/unsplash
On top of the pressure we already experience as university students with multiple commitments, telepressure can lead to negative effects on our schoolwork or other activities. Instead of focusing on the task at hand, we can become distracted by the constant influx of messages and the pressure to respond to them. If we feel burnt out, we may also begin to withdraw from friends and social groups.
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total wellness ▪ spring 2021
One third-year UCLA Communications student said, “I feel like I always have to be on my phone for the fear of missing out on something important, which can sometimes distract me from living in the present.”
