How techno-stressors, information technology access, and boundary management shape psychological distress among digital cohorts

This study explores psychological distress experienced by digital natives and digital settlers/immigrants in relation to techno-stressors, information technology (IT) access, and boundary management. We apply symmetric and asymmetric analytical frameworks to survey data of 415 Canadian university students. Our findings reveal that digital natives face significant psychological distress when lacking access to IT and boundary management, as well as high levels of various techno-stressors. Digital settlers/immigrants, on the other hand, experience psychological distress when they have access to IT with insufficient boundary management, alongside high levels of techno-overload, techno-invasion, techno-insecurity, and techno-complexity, but lower levels of techno-unreliability. The study highlights the complex interplay between technology use and psychological well-being across digital cohorts.