01.1 - Gender and Digital Stress: Differences in Perception and Coping with Technological Pressures

• Dijana Vuković

  University North

  Author

In the digital age, technological pressures are becoming increasingly present in everyday life, leading to the phenomenon of digital stress. Modern technologies, especially the internet, smartphones and social networks, bring numerous benefits, but simultaneously increase the feeling of information overload, the need for constant availability and anxiety due to digital demands. Digital stress can negatively affect individuals' mental health, productivity and quality of life, and a growing body of research indicates that its impact is not the same for all users. Previous studies suggest that women are more likely to feel stress due to communication demands and multitasking, while men may be more sensitive to information overload and technological change. Understanding these differences is key to creating effective digital well-being strategies, both at the individual and societal levels. The research was conducted on a sample of 450 women and 450 men, and the collected data provided insight into factors that contribute to digital stress, such as excessive exposure to digital content, the need to quickly respond to messages and written notifications, and a feeling of loss of control over technology. Special attention was paid to the strategies that respondents use to cope with digital stress, including digital detoxification, time limits on technology use, and notification management. The results of the research show that women more often experience digital stress due to the pressure of communication and multitasking, while men experience stress more pronouncedly due to information overload and the expectation of a quick response to digital requests. Women also use emotional regulation strategies more often, while men prefer technical methods of stress management, such as filtering information and turning off text notifications. The empirical data were collected in Croatia in 2025 through an online questionnaire distributed among adult internet users. Statistical analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics 29.0, encompassing descriptive statistics, independent samples t-tests, one-way and multivariate analyses of variance (ANOVA and MANOVA), and hierarchical multiple regression models to examine predictors and gender interactions in digital stress and coping strategies.