Dr. Laffier featured in The Walrus Magazine
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
We're proud to spotlight our Lab Director, Dr. Jennifer Laffier, who was featured in The Walrus last month, discussing the psychology behind "inbox anxiety" and "digital overload."
In the article "The Case Against Answering Every Email," Dr. Laffier reframes what so many of us call "inbox stress." She explains that it is often less about the messages themselves and more about cognitive overload. Cognitive overload occurs when we ask our brains to process more than they are built to handle in a day, and technology can contribute to it through features such as notifications and busy newsfeeds.
She also explores the "Inbox Zero" trend and how the perceived pressure to reduce our inboxes to zero unread messages may be too simplistic. Dr. Laffier states:
"'If there is one thing that we have found in our research, it’s that digital wellness looks different for every person,' she says. What’s important is that people actually find evidence-based strategies that make sense for them, she adds; otherwise, they just end up chasing a number" (para. 7).
Digital wellness is not a one-size-fits-all, and for a lot of people, inbox anxiety has less to do with the number in the red circle and more to do with social comparison; the nagging sense that everyone else has it "more together" than we do.
Dr. Laffier's advice for anyone feeling overwhelmed: skip the total overhaul. Small, process-focused changes, like cleaning up filters or unsubscribing from newsletters you never open, tend to stick better than chasing an outcome.
This is exactly the kind of research our Lab exists to do! Helping people build a healthier, more sustainable relationship with technology, one grounded in evidence rather than trends.
