The dark side of technologies: Technostress among users of information and communication technologies
Open accessAbstract
This paper tests the structure and the predictors of two psychological experiences of technostress associated with the use of information and communication technologies (ICT), i.e., technostrain (users report feelings of anxiety, fatigue, scepticism and inefficacy beliefs related to the use of technologies) and technoaddiction (users feel bad due to an excessive and compulsive use of these technologies). The study included a sample of 1072 ICT users ( N = 675 nonintensive ICT users and N = 397 intensive ICT users). Results from multigroup confirmatory factor analyses among non‐intensive and intensive ICT users showed, as expected, the four‐factor structure of technostrain in both samples. Secondly, and also as expected, confirmatory factorial analyses revealed that technostress experiences are characterized not only by technostrain but also by an excessive and compulsive use of ICT. Moreover, multiple analyses of variance showed significant differences between non‐intensive and intensive ICT users (1) in the dimensions of technostress and (2) in specific job demands and job/personal resources. Finally, linear multiple regression analyses revealed that technostrain is positively predicted by work overload, role ambiguity, emotional overload, mobbing and obstacles hindering ICT use, as well as by lack of autonomy, transformational leadership, social support, ICT use facilitators and mental competences. Work overload, role ambiguity and mobbing, as well as the lack of emotional competences, positively predict technoaddiction. Theoretical and practical implications, in addition to future research, are discussed.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Technostress correlates with a diminished willingness to embrace new tools.
“Second, technostress, defined as the psychological strain associated with continuous technological adaptation, correlates with a diminished willingness to embrace new tools (Salanova et al., 2013;Tarafdar et al., 2007).”
From Adoption and Integration of Artificial Intelligence in Foreign Language Teaching: Multi-Institutional Analysis of Higher Education (2026) · cites this paper as Salanova et al., 2013
Marsh et al. (2022) integrative review identifies two studies that address transformational leadership as a resource for coping with technostrain.
“Marsh et al. (2022) integrative review of the dark side of digital work is an exception, as they identify two studies that address the role of transformational leadership as a resource for coping with technostrain (Salanova et al. 2013)”
From Leadership and technostress: A systematic literature review (2025) · cites this paper as Salanova et al. 2013
Cites
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J.-Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879 · Cited by 82,194 · see citing works
Self-efficacy: The exercise of control
Bandura, A., Freeman, W. H., & Lightsey, R. (1999) · Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy · doi:10.1891/0889-8391.13.2.158 · Cited by 46,835 · see citing works
Discovering Statistics Using SPSS
Field, A. P., & Miles, J. N. V. (2000) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 28,268 · see citing works
Russell, J. A. (1980) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0077714 · Cited by 16,334 · see citing works
Social Cognitive Theory: An Agentic Perspective
Bandura, A. (2001) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.1 · Cited by 15,510 · see citing works
The job demands-resources model of burnout.
Demerouti, E., Bakker, A. B., Nachreiner, F., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2001) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-9010.86.3.499 · Cited by 13,643 · see citing works
Maslach, C., Schaufeli, W. B., & Leiter, M. P. (2001) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.397 · Cited by 12,852 · see citing works
Adams, J. S. (1965) · Advances in Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/s0065-2601(08)60108-2 · Cited by 10,818 · see citing works
Job demands, job resources, and their relationship with burnout and engagement: a multi‐sample study
Schaufeli, W. B., & Bakker, A. B. (2004) · Journal of Organizational Behavior · doi:10.1002/job.248 · Cited by 9,297 · see citing works
Role Conflict and Ambiguity in Complex Organizations
Rizzo, J., House, R. J., & Lirtzman, S. I. (1970) · Administrative Science Quarterly · doi:10.2307/2391486 · Cited by 5,341 · see citing works
Structural Equation Modeling With AMOS: Basic Concepts, Applications, and Programming, Third Edition
Byrne, B. M. (2016) · doi:10.4324/9781315757421 · Cited by 4,653 · see citing works
Bandura, A. (1997) · American Journal of Health Promotion · doi:10.4278/0890-1171-12.1.8 · Cited by 3,499 · see citing works
The Burnout Companion to Study and Practice: A Critical Analysis
Schaufeli, W. B., & Enzmann, D. (2020) · CRC Press eBooks · doi:10.1201/9781003062745 · Cited by 2,184 · see citing works
Ragu-Nathan, T. S., Tarafdar, M., Ragu-Nathan, B. S., & Tu, Q. (2008) · Information Systems Research · doi:10.1287/isre.1070.0165 · Cited by 2,060 · cited 1× · see citing works
“While most previous research on technostress has focused mainly on its predictors or antecedents (ie, ICT usability, implementation process) (Hamborg & Greif, 2009 ; Parayitam, Desai, Desai, & Eason, 2010 ) and/or its consequences (Ragu-Nathan, Tarafdar, Ragu-Nathan, & Tu, 2008 ), to date little research has examined…”
BackgroundWork, unemployment, and mental health
Warr, P. B. (1987) · Cited by 1,984 · see citing works
Organizational Stress: A Review and Critique of Theory, Research, and Applications
Cooper, C. L., Dewe, P. J., & O’Driscoll, M. P. (2001) · Sage eBooks · doi:10.4135/9781452231235 · Cited by 1,481 · see citing works
The Cambridge Dictionary of Statistics
SRJ, & Everitt, B. S. (1999) · Journal of the American Statistical Association · doi:10.2307/2670205 · Cited by 953 · see citing works
Technostress: The Human Cost Of The Computer Revolution
Brod, C. (1984) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 791 · see citing works
Schaufeli, W. B., & Salanova, M. (2007) · Anxiety Stress & Coping · doi:10.1080/10615800701217878 · Cited by 605 · see citing works
Self-citationBeehr, T. A., Walsh, J. T., & Taber, T. D. (1976) · PubMed · Cited by 580 · see citing works
New measures of job control, cognitive demand, and production responsibility.
Jackson, P. R., Wall, T. D., Martin, R., & Davids, K. (1993) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-9010.78.5.753 · Cited by 493 · see citing works
Beehr, T. A., Walsh, J. T., & Taber, T. D. (1976) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-9010.61.1.41 · Cited by 463 · see citing works
Griffiths, M., & University of Plymouth (1995) · Clinical Psychology Forum · doi:10.53841/bpscpf.1995.1.76.14 · Cited by 443 · see citing works
The relationship between perceived employability and subsequent health
Berntson, E., & Marklund, S. (2007) · Work & Stress · doi:10.1080/02678370701659215 · Cited by 438 · see citing works
Technostress under different organizational environments: An empirical investigation
Wang, K., Shu, Q., & Tu, Q. (2008) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2008.05.007 · Cited by 380 · see citing works
Internet use and psychological well-being: A meta-analysis
Huang, C. (2010) · Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking · doi:10.1089/cyber.2009.0217 · Cited by 359 · see citing works
TechnoStress: Coping with Technology @Work @Home @Play
Weil, M. M., & Rosen, L. D. (1997) · Cited by 342 · see citing works
Investigating teacher stress when using technology
Al-Fudail, M. A., & Mellar, H. G. (2007) · Computers & Education · doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2007.11.004 · Cited by 279 · see citing works
The Cambridge Dictionary of Statistics
(2003) · Technometrics · doi:10.1198/tech.2003.s155 · Cited by 276 · see citing works
The Long Work Hours Culture: Causes, Consequences and Choices
Cooper, C. L., & Burke, R. J. (2008) · Cited by 273 · see citing works
Validity of a brief workaholism scale.
Líbano, M. D., Llorens, S., Salanova, M., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2010) · PubMed · Cited by 178 · see citing works
Self-citationComputer training, frequency of usage and burnout: the moderating role of computer self-efficacy
Salanova, M., Grau, R., Cifré, E., & Llorens, S. (2000) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/s0747-5632(00)00028-5 · Cited by 158 · see citing works
Self-citationFeatures and predictors of problematic internet use in Chinese college students
Huang, R. L., Lu, Z., Liu, J. J., You, Y. M., Pan, Z. Q., Wei, Z., He, Q., & Wang, Z. Z. (2009) · Behaviour & Information Technology · doi:10.1080/01449290701485801 · Cited by 138 · see citing works
The Associations among Computer-Mediated Communication, Relationships, and Well-being
Schiffrin, H. H., Edelman, A., Falkenstern, M. A., & Stewart, C. (2010) · Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking · doi:10.1089/cyber.2009.0173 · Cited by 118 · see citing works
Wallgren, L. G., & Hanse, J. J. (2006) · International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics · doi:10.1016/j.ergon.2006.10.005 · Cited by 112 · see citing works
HRM perspectives on addiction to technology and work
Porter, G., & KAKABADSE, N. K. (2006) · Journal of Management Development · doi:10.1108/02621710610670119 · Cited by 110 · see citing works
Computer self-efficacy in an ongoing use context
Deng, X., Doll, W. J., & Truong, D. (2004) · Behaviour and Information Technology · doi:10.1080/01449290410001723454 · Cited by 82 · see citing works
Parayitam, S., Desai, K. J., Desai, M. S., & Eason, M. K. (2009) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2009.11.005 · Cited by 79 · see citing works
Social networking users’ views on technology and the determination of technostress levels
Şahin, Y. L., & Çoklar, A. N. (2009) · Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2009.01.253 · Cited by 73 · see citing works
Gaudron, J., & Vignoli, E. (2002) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/s0747-5632(01)00039-5 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Henderson, R. D., Deane, F. P., & WARD, M. J. (1995) · Behaviour and Information Technology · doi:10.1080/01449299508914622 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Korunka, C., Zauchner, S., & Weiss, A. (1997) · International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction · doi:10.1207/s15327590ijhc0904_5 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Hamborg, K., & Greif, S. (2009) · doi:10.1002/9780470682357.ch11 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
A Virtual Therapeutic Environment with User Projective Agents
Ookita, S. Y., & Tokuda, H. (2001) · CyberPsychology & Behavior · doi:10.1089/10949310151088550 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Lee, A. R., Son, S.-M., & Kim, K. K. (2016) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2015.08.011 · Cited by 814 · see citing works
Definition, symptoms and risk of techno-stress: a systematic review
La Torre, G., Esposito, A., Sciarra, I., & Chiappetta, M. (2019) · International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health · doi:10.1007/s00420-018-1352-1 · Cited by 409 · see citing works
The digital workplace and its dark side: An integrative review
Marsh, E., Vallejos, E. P., & Spence, A. (2022) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2021.107118 · Cited by 348 · see citing works
Spagnoli, P., Molino, M., Molinaro, D., Giancaspro, M. L., Manuti, A., & Ghislieri, C. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.620310 · Cited by 209 · see citing works
Berg-Beckhoff, G., Nielsen, G., & Ladekjær Larsen, E. (2017) · International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health · doi:10.1080/10773525.2018.1436015 · Cited by 197 · see citing works
Yener, S., Arslan, A., & Kilinç, S. (2021) · Information Technology & People · doi:10.1108/itp-09-2019-0462 · Cited by 182 · see citing works
Technostress Research: A Nurturing Ground for Measurement Pluralism?
University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, Fischer, T., Riedl, R., & University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria and University of Linz (2017) · Communications of the Association for Information Systems · doi:10.17705/1cais.04017 · Cited by 127 · see citing works
Bregenzer, A., & Jimenez, P. (2021) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/24906 · Cited by 73 · see citing works
Overwhelmed by technostress? Sensitive archetypes and effects in times of forced digitalization
González-López, Ó. R., Buenadicha-Mateos, M., & Sánchez-Hernández, M. I. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18084216 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
Wang, X., Wang, Z., Wang, Q., Chen, W., & Pi, Z. (2021) · Journal of Computer Assisted Learning · doi:10.1111/jcal.12546 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Leadership and technostress: A systematic literature review
Rademaker, T., Klingenberg, I., & Süß, S. (2025) · Management Review Quarterly · doi:10.1007/s11301-023-00385-x · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Technostress among teachers: A systematic literature review and future research agenda
Yang, D., Liu, J., Wang, H., Chen, P., Wang, C., & Metwally, A. H. S. (2025) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2025.108619 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Bauwens, R., Denissen, M., Van Beurden, J., & Coun, M. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.702648 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Ikei, H., Song, C., & Miyazaki, Y. (2018) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph15102135 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Nuutinen, S., & Bordi, L. (2025) · International Journal of Educational Management · doi:10.1108/ijem-04-2023-0211 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“While anxiety is an experience of heightened activation, technostrain can also manifest as reduced levels of psychological activation, namely ICT-induced fatigue and exhaustion (Salanova et al. , 2013).”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialKaradağ, E., Calışkan, N., Çiftçi, Ş. S., & Polat, M. (2026) · Journal of Narrative and Language Studies · doi:10.59045/nalans.2026.93
- Authors
- Salanova, M., Llorens, S., & Cifre, E.
- Affiliations
- Universitat Jaume I (ES)
- Department of Social Psychology University Jaume I Castellón Spain
- Corresponding author
- Salanova, Marisa
- Venue
- International Journal of Psychology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2012-06-25
- Volume
- 48
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 422-436
- ISSN
- 0020-7594 (ISSN-L)
- 1464-066X
- OpenAlex
- W2151620557
- Cited by
- 604
- References
- 44
- Citations by year
- 2026: 88 · 2025: 72 · 2024: 77 · 2023: 75 · 2022: 85 · 2021: 60 · 2020: 51 · 2019: 30 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 9.14
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- hdl.handle.net
- Licence
- public-domain
- onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
- Locations
- International Journal of Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Repositori UJI (Universitat Jaume I) (acceptedVersion)
- LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (submittedVersion, public-domain)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Technostress in Professional Settings
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Stress and Burnout Research
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender and Technology in Education
- Keywords
- technostress, information and communication technologies, work overload, role ambiguity, mobbing, emotional overload, transformational leadership, social support, employee autonomy, mental competence, compulsive technology use
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Attitude to Computers, Communication, Cross-Sectional Studies, Factor Analysis, Statistical, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Stress, Psychological, Technology, Information Dissemination, Young Adult
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
