Stressed out? It could be your slow internet

feeling stressed out, it might be because of your slow internet connection.

Delays to loading web pages and videos increase our heart rate and produce a level of stress equivalent to watching a horror film, according to a study from Ericsson.

The telecoms group studied the brain activity, eye movements and pulse of 30 Danish volunteers to determine how they reacted to delays to internet speeds when completing tasks such as browsing the web and watching videos on YouTube.

The participants were split into three groups: one without any delays, one with delays of 4-6 seconds and one with delays of 10-14 seconds. They found that heart rate jumped by 38 per cent when delays to loading happened, and that stress levels, measured by cognitive load – how much information is stored in the part of the brain that is associated with stress – also rose significantly.

The amount of cognitive load associated with slow internet was on a par with horror films and maths problems, and above queuing, watching dramatic TV shows or standing on the edge of a virtual cliff.

The participants were split into three groups: one without any delays, one with delays of 4-6 seconds and one with delays of 10-14 seconds. They found that heart rate jumped by 38 per cent when delays to loading happened, and that stress levels, measured by cognitive load – how much information is stored in the part of the brain that is associated with stress – also rose significantly.

The amount of cognitive load associated with slow internet was on a par with horror films and maths problems, and above queuing, watching dramatic TV shows or standing on the edge of a virtual cliff.

[“Source-telegraph”]