Ctrl+T: Digital Overload

Ctrl+t: digital overload

By Alenka Porras Lujan

Start

Hypothesis

index

Data and Methods

Introduction & RQ

Assumptions

Literature Review

Analysis and Results

Theory

Implications and Conclusion

How does Digital overload shape student mental well-being?

mental well-being and productivity

"The maximum number of tabs you can effectively handle depends on various factors, including your device, chosen web browser, and individual browsing habits."

-Eleanor McKeown

Alenka's tab count: 25 (+14)

Alenka's stress level (1-5): 3.5

Literature Review

Literature review

Study 01

Study 02

study 03

• Information overload, social media pressure, and digital requirements related to work often contribute to this stress. As a result, anxiety, sleep disorders, and less focus are common (Oboh, 2025).

• Studies have shown that excessive tab clutter is a concern for 82% of web users and induces feelings of annoyance and stress (Ma et al., 2023)

• According to the American Psychological Association, digital stress includes experiences like anxiety from constant notifications, fear of missing out, and cyberbullying (Bethune & Lewan, 2017).

In this research, I will explore the impact of the number of tabs open on a student's browser on their stress level...

Tab-Stress Theories

Strain on Computer...

slower performance

Cause: Computer Performance

Effect: High Stress

• More tabs open = limited/slower computer performance
• difficulty:
• loading websites
• rendering complex graphics, etc.
• struggle to complete tasks, limiting productivity, increasing stress

• Chrome browser supports 9,000 tabs
• Strain on computers CPU (centeral processing unit) and memory
• increased open tabs:
• more demand on system resources (i.e. RAM(random access memory))
• browser freezes/crashes

Increased clutter...

less productivity

Cause: increased clutter

Effect: High Stress

• overwhelming visual experience
• difficulty focusing on a singlular task
• constantly switching between tabs
• waste of time

• More tabs open = less productivity
• difficulty:
• finding tabs
• focusing on a singular task
• struggle to complete tasks, limiting productivity, increasing stress

tabs open -> stress level

Ha: INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE A LARGE NUMBER OF TABS OPEN ARE LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE INCREASED STRESS levels (positive linear correlation).

H0: There is no linear association between tabs open and level of stress.

DATA and methods

data from?

Method

unit of analysis

data collected using survey

Correlation test (Pearson Correlation coefficient (r))

individuals (students)

Period covered

Total observations

800(0 missing observations)

Synthetic data created 10/20/25

Data & variables

Method: Correlation test (Pearson Correlation Coefficient (r))

Dependent

independent

• Stress level
• Type: continous
• Units: numerical
• coding: (pss10_score)
• 0-40

• Number of Tabs open
• Type: continuous
• Units: tabs
• coding: (tabs_open)
• number tabs open 1-80

assumptions

for correlation test

Assumption

fail

Pass

Sample is random

Both variance are continous

Data contains paired samples

Independence of observations

The variables are approximately normal

A linear association exists

No outliers in data

Correlation test Results

Reject the null hypothesis

Results

• p-value:
• 0.000<0.05
• statistically significant
• r-value: 0.4696
• 0.4696<0.5
• positive moderate relationship

COnclusion

Rejected the null!!!

Implications...

• Results were statistically significant
• Moderate positive linear relationship between the number of tabs on a student's browser and their stress level
• Recommendations:
• To minimize stress, only open a maximum of 10 tabs at a time.

thank you

Any questions?

Works CIted

Bethune, S., Lewan, E., (2017). APA’s Survey Finds Constantly Checking Electronic Devices Linked to Significant Stress for Most Americans. American Psychological Association. Ma, R., Lassila, H., Nurgalieva, L., & Lindqvist, J. (2023). When browsing gets cluttered: Exploring and modeling interactions of browsing clutter, browsing habits, and coping. CHI ’23: Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Association for Computing Machinery. Oboh, I. (2025). Digital Stress: Causes, Effects, and How to Overcome It. IROKO.

Tabs log has already been generated

Stress level: cont.

• self-reported questionnaire
• a series of questions to rate feelings and experiences over the past month
• assesses how unpredictable, uncontrollable, and overloaded individuals find their lives to be
• consists of ten items, with scores calculated on a 5-point scale,
• ranging from 0 (Never) to 4 (Very Often).
• The total score can range from 0 to 40, with higher scores indicating higher levels of perceived

Precieved Stress Scale (PSS-10)

continuous stress measure

generated natural log for tabs <-

-academic year -age (18-30) -gender -major -work status -1st generation -course load -tabs open -windows open and switch rate -interuptions and stress level

-total screen time -digital self-score (0-10) -study hours -sleep hours -gpa -deadlines in the next 3 days

Data calibrated to HCI and student stress literature ->

• The tabs open of respondent 1 should be independent from respondent 2's open tabs.
• The stress of respondent 1 should be independent from the stress of respondent 2.