From Digital Fatigue to Technological Burnout: Assessment Challenges and Implications for Psychological Practice
A Critical Overview
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.57125/FS.2026.06.20.09Keywords:
ACT, digital fatigue, experiential avoidance, Job Demands-Resources model, occupational psychology, procrastination, psychological assessment, recovery, technological burnout, technostressAbstract
The proliferation of digital technologies has introduced a new cluster of occupational and psychological phenomena that challenge both theoretical frameworks and clinical assessment tools, and that can be understood as part of a broader social transformation in how intellectual work is organized. This article provides a theoretical review examining the conceptual continuum from digital fatigue through technostress to full technological burnout, with particular attention to the assessment landscape and its limitations. Drawing on empirical literature from occupational psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and behavioral therapy, the article analyses the principal measurement instruments currently available — including the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), the Technostress Creators Scale, the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire–II (AAQ-II), the General Procrastination Scale (GPS), the Recovery Experience Questionnaire (REQ), and the NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) — and critically evaluates their applicability, psychometric properties, and theoretical coherence within digital work contexts. Five primary assessment challenges are identified: construct overlap, ecological validity deficits, the absence of technology-specific normative data, state-versus-trait ambiguity, and comorbidity with common psychopathological conditions. The article concludes with expanded practical implications for psychologists working with intellectually intensive occupational populations, including a proposed integrative assessment protocol, case conceptualization guidelines, phased intervention recommendations, psychoeducational strategies, organizational-level approaches, and ethical considerations related to digital monitoring.
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