The Sociology of Stress
Chapter 2
“Americans are the most entertained and least
informed people on the planet.” -Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Present Shock:
 Narrative Collapse: Life events reduced to tweets, loss of the bigger picture
 Digiphrenia: Be in more than one place with social media
 Overwinding: Getting less done, reducing big-time scales into small ones
 Fractalnoia: Media grazing, jumping to conclusions with incomplete info
Sociology
The study of human social behavior within
families, organizations and institutions; the
study of the individual in relationship to
society as a whole.
Technostress
 Expectations of immediate gratification with communication
response
 Guilt feelings not responding in time
 Stress responding to emails
 Pressure to update/refine online profiles
 Anxiety being alone/not connected
 Privacy concerns
 Other aspects?
Technostress
 Information Overload
 Boundaries
 Privacy
 Ethics
 Less Family Time
 Computer Dating
 Wi-Fi Stress
 Generational Divide
 Other Aspects
Civility
The practice of good manners and appropriate
behaviors.
Behaviors of Incivility
 Rudeness
 Sarcasm
 Being pushy
 Arrogance
 Apathetic
 Defensiveness
 Aggressiveness
 Impatient
 Selfishness
 Dishonesty
 Clueless
Occupational Stress
 The American Institute on Stress reports that 80% of workers report feeling jobrelated stress resulting in burnout, absenteeism, and presenteeism.
Occupational Stress
 Lack of job security
 Too much responsibility
 Unrealistic expectations
 Corporate downsizing
 Inadequate training
 Lack of appreciation
 Inability to voice concerns
 Lack of creativity and autonomy
 Do more with less: few resources
 Lack of clear job description
 Commuting and traffic difficulties
 Inadequate childcare
 Sexual harassment/discrimination
 Workplace violence