Nick Whaley

Stress is something that we all deal with from time to time, but what exactly is causing the stress in our daily lives? In search of an answer to this question, I asked five individuals, Curtis, Matt, Tommy, Hannah, and Anaya the following basic questions: “On average, how often do you experience stress or anxiety,”  “what is the main cause of your stress/anxiety,” and “does social media impact your stress levels in any way?” I asked each individual follow up questions based upon their answers, and surprisingly, almost everyone had very similar answers to each question.

Everybody I interviewed stated that they typically experience at least moderate levels of stress every single day. Two of the individuals stated they experience high levels of stress on a daily basis. When asked what causes their stress, there was a clear consensus across the board – school. Answers ranged from generic, such as exams and homework, to very specific, such as CHEG112. Considering that everyone that was interviewed is a college student, it is no surprise that school is a contributing factor to their stress levels, but it was surprising that everyone listed it as their number one cause of stress. When asked about how often he experiences stress, Tommy responded with, “When I’m at college or at home? If it’s during college then it’s every day.” Tommy, along with several others, reported that their stress levels are much higher when they are at college.

Social media is often blamed for having negative effects on peoples’ mental health, but this is not what I found with the small group of people I interviewed. Not a single person even mentioned social media when I asked them what contributes to their stress/anxiety, even when I asked what stresses them out other than school. When asked if social media has an impact one her stress levels, Hannah responded with, “I don’t think so. I have tried to limit the amount of time I spend on social media for that very reason.” Curtis and Anaya both reported that social media has no effect on their stress levels. Tommy and Matt both stated that social media actually helps to lower their stress levels. Tommy stated, “it gets my mind off of things for a little bit,” and Matt stated, “I like to see people being stupid.”

The sample size for my interview is small, but based upon its results, it would appear that college students are mainly worried about school rather than social media. That isn’t to say that some people don’t have stress related to social media, but it would appear that school-related stress is more widespread. No matter the cause, everybody deals with stress, and the hard part is finding the right way of dealing with it. Our minds have to constantly adapt to figure out new ways of handling new stressors. Our mind is a work in progress.