The use of technology had a negative psychological impact on nurse educators, whether digital natives or digital immigrants, particularly in relation to stress

19 May 2026

Technostress is a modern adaptation issue resulting from the difficulty of adapting to technological use. Integrating technology in teaching and learning during the sudden shift of teaching modalities exposes nursing educators to technostress. This study was conducted to determine and compare the levels of technostress experienced by digital native and digital immigrant nurse educators during the abrupt change in the teaching-learning environment brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. A descriptive comparative design was employed involving 115 nurse educators in the South-Central Mindanao region, Philippines, who were categorized as digital natives and digital immigrants. A 28-item Teacher’s Technostress Level Determination Scale (TTLDS) questionnaire was used to collect the data. An unpaired t-test was used to compare the data between the two groups.

Results showed that both groups reported having high technostress in the learning-teaching process-oriented domain. Digital natives reported low technostress in the personal-oriented domain, while digital immigrants have low technostress in profession-oriented and technical-issue-oriented domains. However, the t-test results showed no significant difference in the stress levels perceived by both groups. Hence, technology use was reported to have a negative psychological impact on nurse educators, especially regarding stress. Better exploration of technostress and how the technology affects nurse educators may help protect their physical and psychological well-being.

Technostress in Philippine higher education institutions, particularly in nursing education, remains relatively understudied. Understanding how technostress influences nursing educators provides insights to formulate strategies and policies to promote mental health and well-being as they train future nurses of the country and the world. Stress levels of nursing educators can lead to faculty performance issues, pressure, and stress that can negatively affect students. Moreover, support for nursing educators and comprehensive technical assistance are needed to enhance their skills. Hence, the rapidly changing instructional environment, coupled with compounded demands placed on nursing faculty, necessitates an investigation.

Authors: Jessie T. Oraño (St. Alexius College, Koronadal, South Cotabato) and Charlie C. Falguera (School of Health Sciences, University of the Philippines Manila, Palo, Leyte)

Read the full paper: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2025.04.015

Image by Marko Klaric

The use of technology had a negative psychological impact on nurse educators, whether digital natives or digital immigrants, particularly in relation to stress

Technostress is a modern adaptation issue resulting from the difficulty of adapting to technological use. Integrating technology in teaching and learning during the sudden shift of teaching modalities exposes nursing educators to technostress. This study was conducted to determine and compare the levels of technostress experienced by digital native and digital immigrant nurse educators during the abrupt change in the teaching-learning environment brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. A descriptive comparative design was employed involving 115 nurse educators in the South-Central Mindanao region, Philippines, who were categorized as digital natives and digital immigrants. A 28-item Teacher’s Technostress Level Determination Scale (TTLDS) questionnaire was used to collect the data. An unpaired t-test was used to compare the data between the two groups.

Results showed that both groups reported having high technostress in the learning-teaching process-oriented domain. Digital natives reported low technostress in the personal-oriented domain, while digital immigrants have low technostress in profession-oriented and technical-issue-oriented domains. However, the t-test results showed no significant difference in the stress levels perceived by both groups. Hence, technology use was reported to have a negative psychological impact on nurse educators, especially regarding stress. Better exploration of technostress and how the technology affects nurse educators may help protect their physical and psychological well-being.

Technostress in Philippine higher education institutions, particularly in nursing education, remains relatively understudied. Understanding how technostress influences nursing educators provides insights to formulate strategies and policies to promote mental health and well-being as they train future nurses of the country and the world. Stress levels of nursing educators can lead to faculty performance issues, pressure, and stress that can negatively affect students. Moreover, support for nursing educators and comprehensive technical assistance are needed to enhance their skills. Hence, the rapidly changing instructional environment, coupled with compounded demands placed on nursing faculty, necessitates an investigation.

Authors: Jessie T. Oraño (St. Alexius College, Koronadal, South Cotabato) and Charlie C. Falguera (School of Health Sciences, University of the Philippines Manila, Palo, Leyte)

Read the full paper: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2025.04.015

Image by Marko Klaric