HW410 Chapter 2: "The Sociology of Stress"

Question 1

What do some experts argue that our collective stress is a result of?

Answer 1

Our inability to keep up with all the changes that influence so many parts of our lives. Our physiology has not evolved at a rate comparable rate to the social changes.

Question 2

What has Douglas Rushkoff, a social media theorist, called the syndrome of the emergence of a new series of stressors and problems?

Answer 2

Present Shock.

Question 3

What does Present Shock include?

Answer 3

Narrative collapse: Because so much attention is on the present moment, people cannot get a clear perspective on their lives (e.g., addressing problems of global warming or saving for retirement). Life events are reduced to myopic 140-character tweets or quick Facebook status updates, losing the bigger context of one’s life.
Digiphrenia: The tacit permission to be in more than one place at a time with a variety of social media.
Overwinding: The ability to reduce big-time scales into small ones (as a result, getting less done).
Fractalnoia: The anxiety associated with rapid media grazing and jumping to conclusions with incomplete information in the absence of cause and effect perspective.

Question 4

What is defined in The study of human social behavior within families, organizations, and institutions; the study of the individual in relationship to society as a whole?

Answer 4

Sociology

Question 5

What is technostress?

Answer 5

A term used to define the result of a fast-paced life dependent on various means of technology, including computers, cell phones and smartphones, personal digital assistants, texting, and email—all of which were supposed to give people more leisure time. Instead, people have become slaves, addicted to the constant use of these devices and technologies.

Question 6

What did the Kaiser Family Foundation suggest in data found with 8-18 year olds?

Answer 6

They spend over 7 hours a day with entertainment media.

Question 7

According to a Harris Interactive poll, how many emails per day cause stress, leading to the phrase email stress?

Answer 7

50 emails a day.

Question 8

How many emails were sent in a day and over the course of 2009?

Answer 8

247 billion emails a day leading to 90 trillion

Question 9

What University of California at Irvine research identified triggering the stress response?

Answer 9

Constant interruption of emails.

Question 10

What does the receipt of emails and tweets accompanied by a release of what?

Answer 10

Dopamine. A “feel-good” neurotransmitter, is associated with chemical addictions. In the absence of dopamine release, boredom ensues, until the next fix

Question 11

What is the shallow effect?

Answer 11

A shallow understanding of complicated issues that is caused by information grazing. Jumping from site to site and cherry-picking information compromises one’s ability to concentrate or focus on something long enough to fully understand all its implications.

Question 12

What did the research show from University of Southern Maine on their cellphone being in arm’s reach?

Answer 12

It revealed that people who had their cell phones within easy reach were less efficient with a given task than those who did the same task without the presence of their cell phone

Question 13

What is required to process information from short-term memory to long-term memory?

Answer 13

The brain needs periods of rest from screens.

Question 14

For note taking, what was shown to be far superior?

Answer 14

Handwritten notes compared to using a laptop.

Question 15

According to Friedman, what are the three ways to avoid digital demintia?

Answer 15

Keep smartphones off desk.
Banish email and text alerts.
Schedule distraction-free periods each day.

Question 16

What are some examples of technostress?

Answer 16

Information overload, cyber bullying, identity theft, cyber hacking, bandwidth and cloud issues, boundaries, privacy, ethics, less family time, online dating, WiFi stress, and technology and the generational divide.

Question 17

What is civility?

Answer 17

The practice of good manners and appropriate behavior.

Question 18

In sociology, what is said that modern society suffers from?

Answer 18

Environmental Disconnect. A state in which people have distanced themselves so much from the natural environment that they cannot fathom the magnitude of their impact on it.

Question 19

What was the term coined by Richard Louv to describe a now-common behavior (affliction) where people (particularly children) simply don’t get outside enough, hence losing touch with the natural world and all of its wonder?

Answer 19

Nature deficit disorder.

Question 20

What type of deficiency has by identified by more and more people staying indoors?

Answer 20

Vitamin D deficiency. It is created from cholesterol on the skin to form Vitamin D.

Question 21

What do sociologists say are the two most stressful environments?

Answer 21

Family (which also provides much support) and one’s work environment.

Question 22

What is at an all time high?

Answer 22

Occupational Stress. Job-related stress, which often comes from occupational duties for which people perceive themselves as having a great deal of responsibility, yet little or no authority or decision-making latitude.

Question 23

According to a 2013 Harris survey, what percent of Americans said they were stressed and what was the increase from 2012?

Answer 23

83% in 2013, 10% increase from 2012

Question 24

What are some of the first signs of stress at the workplace?

Answer 24

Burnout then followed by absenteeism. The term presenteeism was coined to describe the related problem of going to work but being unproductive and unmotivated, there in body but not in mind.

Question 25

Summary of Chapter 2

Answer 25

Sociology is described as the study of human social behavior within families, organizations, and institutions. Societal stress is a force to be reckoned with in today’s culture. Once called future shock, the tsunami of social issues is now referred to as superstress—the inability to cope with an overwhelming amount of change.
No one is exempt from the sociology of stress.
Technostress is a term used to describe the overwhelming frustrations of sensory bombardment and poor boundaries that result from the plethora of technological gadgets. Technostress began with personal computers but has evolved with the advent of and addiction to social networking. The body’s physiology wasn’t designed to be “on” all the time. The result is burnout and physical health issues.
Social stress includes a decline in social etiquette. A lack of civility (demonstrated by rude, impatient behavior) is on the rise.
Experts suggest that one aspect of societal stress is an environmental disconnect: a growing disregard of the environment by humanity, such that dramatic changes, from dwindling supplies of fresh water to declining food quality to environmental pollution, will have a significant impact on each individual’s lifestyle and health.
Nature deficit disorder is a term describing people’s absence from the natural world. One result is inadequate amounts of sunlight exposure, which produces a vitamin D deficiency.
Most people garner their self-worth from their jobs or careers, yet many Americans cite their job as being stressful, thus impacting self-worth, self-esteem, family relationships, and many other aspects of their lives in negative ways.
Race and gender issues have always been part of the social fabric and continue to contribute largely to stress, especially as people express themselves with reckless abandon in the digital age.