Digital Fatigue among School Teachers in Post-Pandemic Education

Educators all over the world have witnessed profound changes in their work conditions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Pedagogical and technological shifts in the landscape of education are reshaping the engagement of teachers with digital devices. As a result, many educators are experiencing digital fatigue. Digital fatigue encompasses cognitive, emotional and physical exhaustion due to extensive and intensified use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Fatigue arises from the continuous digital engagement required at work. At the same time, the demand for remote collaboration tools and platforms has increased dramatically. The pandemic has changed not only the way education is delivered but also the way teachers engage with educational materials and learn new knowledge about teaching and learning. The popularization of online learning management systems (LMSs) and the need to integrate diverse mode of information—text, graphic, audio, and video—facilitate sharing learning materials remotely, and at the same time, teachers need to flexibly change formats according to different students’ needs. Furthermore, extensive time spent on distance teaching and learning has compelled educators to invest more efforts into understanding digital tools and media. Digital fatigue is often confused with teacher burnout. While burnout refers to prolonged occupational stress, digital fatigue is a second-order effect associated with the widespread use of ICTs and occurs more frequently in remote working environments. Digital fatigue, therefore, is a key factor influencing teachers’ well-being and their digital competence (De Laet et al., 2022).