What is another name for digital fatigue

Digital fatigue—you know, that bone-deep exhaustion from staring at screens all day—goes by a bunch of different names. The most common one, and the one that actually shows up in clinical settings, is technostress. Dr. Craig Brod, a clinical psychologist, coined that back in 1984. You'll also hear screen fatigue, digital burnout, or Zoom fatigue (that last one's pretty specific to video calls). When it's mostly affecting your eyes, doctors call it Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) or just digital eye strain.

Honestly, which term people use depends on what's bothering them most. "Zoom fatigue" is all about the mental drain of pretending to look interested while your camera's on. "Technostress" covers way more ground—anxiety, feeling overwhelmed by tech, that creepy sense that work never really ends. But at the end of the day, they're all describing the same thing: feeling completely wiped out because we're glued to our screens 24/7.

What are the common synonyms for digital fatigue in the workplace?

At work, people usually talk about technostress or digital burnout. HR teams love those terms. They use them in wellness programs when they're trying to figure out why everyone's so exhausted from answering emails at 10 PM.

There's also information overload fatigue—that's the brain fog from drowning in notifications, messages, and spreadsheets all day. And I've been hearing collaboration tool fatigue more lately. That's the specific kind of tired you get from Slack, Teams, Asana, and all that jazz. Microsoft did a study in 2023 and found 68% of employees say they never get enough uninterrupted focus time. No wonder everyone's fried.

Is Zoom fatigue the same as digital fatigue?

Sort of, but not exactly. Zoom fatigue is like a smaller version of digital fatigue. It's that particular exhaustion you feel after back-to-back video calls. Digital fatigue covers everything—scrolling social media, binge-watching shows, working on your laptop. Zoom fatigue is just about the weirdness of talking to people through a screen.

Stanford researchers broke down what makes Zoom fatigue special. They found four big things:

• Too much eye contact up close: Your brain thinks it's being stared at intensely, which triggers a stress response.
• Watching yourself constantly: Seeing your own face makes you self-conscious and anxious.
• Sitting still forever: You can't move around much because you have to stay in the camera frame.
• Brains working overtime: You're trying to read body language through laggy video and awkward silences.

What are the physical signs of digital eye strain (CVS)?

Computer Vision Syndrome is just the fancy medical name for when digital fatigue messes with your eyes. The American Optometric Association lists these symptoms, and honestly, they're pretty common:

How can you prevent technostress and digital burnout?

Fighting technostress isn't about some magic solution. You gotta mix up what you do and how you set up your space. Here's a practical list:

• Try the 20-20-20 Rule: Every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. Gives your eyes a break.
• Create tech-free zones: Pick spots or times—like the dinner table or your bedroom—where phones and laptops aren't allowed.
• Use focus modes: Block out "deep work" time on your calendar and kill those non-urgent notifications.
• Fix your workspace: Good lighting cuts down on glare. Put your screen at arm's length, top at or just below eye level.
• Practice digital minimalism: Unsubscribe from junk emails, delete apps you never use, limit social media to set times.
• Take movement breaks: up, stretch, walk around for 5 minutes every hour. Your body will thank you.

Frequently Asked Questions about digital fatigue