Do you think slowing down the Internet would increase or decrease stress?

Researchers believe that slow Internet download speeds can cause a strong stress response. Scientists from the Swedish company Ericsson conducted a study of the impact of Internet speed on stress levels. In their opinion, the slow Internet has a negative impact on mental health. To confirm this assumption, they conducted an experiment in which 20 volunteers participated. They were divided into three groups and asked to perform a set of tasks for some time. At the same time devices for two groups were programmed to work with failures. In the first group there was a normal and fast connection, in the second — the time of loading of Internet pages had to be longer for 4-6 seconds, and in the third — for 10-14 seconds. Each video is played in the second and third groups had to slow down three times for 3 seconds. Plus in the second group it was loaded for 2 seconds longer, and in the third — for 6 seconds.

During the experiment, scientists studied the brain activity of participants, their pulse and eye movements. Based on these data, the stress level was calculated. These studies showed that the delay in video playback led to an increase in the level of stress by 3-6%, and the inhibition of video during playback increased it by another 15%. Participants seemed to start to panic: their eyes ran, and the pulse quickened. In addition, delays increased dissatisfaction with the provider. Also, to compare the changes in the level of stress caused by delays in the Internet connection, scientists compared it with the level of stress in other situations. According to them, the slow Internet provoked stress comparable to the stress of watching horror movies or solving mathematical problems. However, it was lower than the stress of waiting in queues or being on the edge of a cliff in virtual reality.