When initially asked whether the technology they encounter in their everyday lives stresses them out, 27.6 percent of survey participants said yes. But when presented with a list of technologies ranging from computers and printers to social networking and mobile phones, respondents changed their tune, with 60.5 percent admitting to being stressed out by some form of technology in their life.

“According to our Digital Stress survey, most consumers do not believe they are digitally stressed by technology until they are reminded or presented with specific technical issues they cannot resolve on their own,” said Mustafa Khanbhai, Director of Virgin Digital Help.

Virgin Digital Help’s research suggests that consumers take particular issue with the fact that technology keeps changing (18.6 percent) as well as compatibility issues (15.2 percent). Women (31.4 percent) in particular are more likely to be stressed out by tech than men (20 percent), while 27.3 percent of 55-64 year-olds say technology is just too complicated.

In order, the technologies that stress people the most are:

o Wi-Fi (12.4 percent)

o The cloud (11.4 percent)

o Home networking or syncing devices (10 percent)

o Desktops, laptops, tablets (8.6 percent)

o Social networking (6.7 percent)

o Printers (6.2 percent)

o Mobile phones (2.9 percent)

o The Internet in general (1.9 percent)

o Email (.5 percent)

When it comes to technology providers themselves, 31.9 percent blame unhelpful customer service while 17.6 percent say they are bombarded with too many confusing software updates and rapidly evolving product lines. But, in a more positive turn, only 10 percent of survey participants went so far as to call technology providers “untrustworthy.”

“While today’s technology brings so much in terms of efficiency and connectivity, the results from our survey also suggest that our embrace of the latest gadgets are not always as seamless as we’d like them to be,” continued Khanbhai.

Conducted throughout the month of June 2012, the survey collected the responses of 210 consumers in the US and UK via Twitter, Facebook, email and phone. The majority of respondents (78.1 percent) were 18-34 years of age. To view an Infographic highlighting all survey responses, please visit: http://bit.ly/O3lWEG.

About Virgin Digital Help

Virgin Digital Help (VDH) is your own 24X7 personal tech support on standby. With expertise in a broad array of electronics and software, VDH supports your digital lifestyle by providing quick solutions to most digital issues with convenient features such as live-chat and call scheduling. VDH is a Virgin Group company. Visit www.virgindigitalhelp.com.

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Contact:

Crisel Ortiz

415/989-9000

crisel@msrcommunications.com