TECHNOSTRESS, CHALLENGES AND COPING MECHANISM OF MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIST STUDENT OF MEDICAL COLLEGES OF NORTHERN PHILIPPINES ON HYBRID LEARNING

Abstract

The shift to hybrid learning introduced several challenges for students, particularly concerning their year level. Technostress, caused by the increasing demands of technology, emerged as a significant issue as students adapted to new digital platforms, devices, and online communication tools essential to their learning experiences. This descriptive-inferential study, conducted with 260 Medical Technology students from various Medical Colleges in Northern Philippines, examined the impact of technostress and its related challenges, focusing on how these factors varied across different year levels and influenced students' coping mechanisms.The findings revealed that year level was the primary factor influencing the severity of technostress, with first-year students experiencing the highest levels of stress, attributed to their inexperience with the digital learning environment. Year-level differences were also observed in coping strategies, with upper-year students demonstrating more effective approaches, likely due to their greater familiarity with online learning platforms and a deeper understanding of academic expectations. The study further found that factors such as cyberbullying and social isolation had a more significant impact on students' emotional and psychological well-being than other stressors like information overload and physical symptoms. These stressors negatively affected students' coping mechanisms, as many struggled with managing feelings of alienation and harassment in online environments. In conclusion, the study recommended targeted interventions to address the specific challenges faced by students at different year levels, particularly concerning cyberbullying and social isolation. Such interventions could have significantly improved students' ability to cope with technostress, enhanced their overall hybrid learning experience, and ensured better academic performance and well-being in increasingly digital educational landscapes.