THE PROBLEM OF RESEARCHING INFORMATION STRESS IN MODERN SCIENTIFIC APPROACHES

Abstract

The article provides a theoretical analysis of the problem of studying information stress in modern scientific approaches. The concept of «stress» is defined on the basis of consideration of the basic concepts of scientists. The concept of stress is generally defined as a nonspecific reaction of an individual to various stimuli. This reaction may be caused by negative and positive events arising in everyday and adverse, difficult circumstances. The individual reaction of a person, namely, his or her individual psychological characteristics, plays an important role in the emergence and course of stress. It is found that under the influence of significant information overload, a person’s inability to analyse and understand it, information stress may arise. An uncontrolled amount of information flows can have negative consequences for the individual. Information stress is caused by a variety of factors. The main factors are daily information overload with insufficient time to understand it or the inability to obtain information that is meaningful to a person, unpredictability of various events and inability to control the situation, insufficient differentiation of content from information flows. An important factor is also an individual’s assessment of the significance of information coming from different sources. An additional factor in the emergence of information stress is the focus on psychotraumatic information. The main ways to counteract the impact of information overload and ways to overcome information stress are identified. There are two main directions, such as preventive and therapeutic. The former is aimed at preventing the occurrence of stress, while the latter is more aimed at neutralising existing stress. However, there are no clear boundaries between these areas. In general, ways of coping with stress are aimed at reducing its effect, actively dealing with stress and changing attitudes. These methods are used both separately, depending on the situation, and can be combined with each other. The author generalises the theoretical analysis of the issue under study and determines that such specific actions as allocation of time for perception of information, control of the number of information flows, differentiation of the information received, and separation of the main from the secondary can be effective in overcoming information stress. However, individual psychological characteristics of a person remain decisive in counteracting information stress.