The blue read receipt ticks on WhatsApp put pressure on recipients to respond immediately and create feelings of anxiety in those waiting for a response. All major apps currently offer some type of notification that a message has been seen. According to a study led by Arizona State University, it even has negative effects on the mental health of young teenagers. It is a “availability stress”. Many subjects felt overwhelmed by receiving a large number of notifications and found it difficult to prioritize.
Digital stress in teens
The teenagers involved in the study said they felt like they had to be constantly available online. Features like “seen” brought pressure to respond to messages quickly. Conversely, study participants reported that they expected their friends to also respond quickly to their messages. They even went so far as to stalk slow-responding friends using another app.
According to researcher Joris Van Ouytsel, many adolescents experience at least some form of digital stress.
“Their stress is exacerbated by specific features of social media. These include 'like buttons' and functions such as 'seen'. This can have a serious impact on relationships with their friends.”
Joris Van Ouytsel
For the study, the experts conducted nine interviews with 51 Belgian students between the ages of 13 and 16.
Four factors are crucial
Participants identified four main factors that determine whether they expect others to respond quickly to messages or whether they perceive the need for a prompt response themselves. This includes whether or not the message was read by the recipient, whether or not they were stalked for a reply, how careful they were to avoid conflict with the person they were messaging, and the urgency of the message itself .
In all nine focus groups, participants said they expected an immediate response once a message was read. If this was not the case, the young people became frustrated. Although features like “Read” and “Online” on social media put pressure on people to respond promptly, five of the nine focus groups said they wouldn’t want to do without these features. You use these features to check whether someone has actually read the message. This allows them to send reminders to friends who have received a message but still haven't responded.
Expectations differed depending on who the teen messaged. For example, participants in seven out of nine focus groups stated that they would write back to a good friend immediately, regardless of what they were doing. If it's just an acquaintance, six of the nine focus groups say they often ignore the message. The teenagers do not agree on messages from their parents. Four of the nine focus groups say they open the message immediately and respond if necessary. However, three focus groups said they would not respond immediately or would intentionally not open or read a message. Details can be found in “Telematics and Informatics”.
You might also be interested in: “ WhatsApp: Request account information ”
Source : press release
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