Summary: A new national survey reveals that 45% of U.S. adults experience stress at least once a week due to news or social media, with 16% feeling stressed daily. While stress is a natural response to caring deeply about issues or people, chronic exposure without relief can negatively affect both mental and physical health.
Experts emphasize the importance of transforming stress into positive action through physical activity, social connection, nature, and digital breaks. Encouragingly, 93% of respondents report actively managing their stress, suggesting a growing awareness of mental well-being.
Key Facts:
- Frequent Stress: 45% of adults feel stressed at least weekly due to media exposure.
- Daily Strain: 16% report experiencing stress every single day.
- Active Coping: Only 7% of respondents said they do nothing to manage stress.
Source: Ohio State University
A new national survey commissioned by the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center found that nearly half of U.S. adults (45%) are stressed at least once a week because of the news or what’s happening on social media.
The survey of 1,005 American adults also found that 16% of those respondents reported feeling stressed every day.
In addition to causing mental strain, stress can impact physical health as well, making it vital for people to develop ways to reduce their stress, said Maryanna Klatt, PhD, director of Ohio State’s Center for Integrative Health.
“Stress in itself is not bad. But it is problematic when it becomes your chronic state of being, and when no action is taken to address the stress,” said Klatt, who is a professor of clinical family medicine at Ohio State.
“We only become stressed about situations or people we care about. This tells us something about what we value. The most important thing is to use that knowledge to transform our stress into ways that enrich our humanity rather than lessen it.”
Klatt, who is trained in mindfulness and is a certified yoga instructor, has focused her research on developing and evaluating feasible, cost-effective ways to reduce the risk of stress-related chronic illness for both adults and children.
Her adult program, Mindfulness in Motion, is delivered at the worksite and combines gentle yoga, mindfulness and relaxing music.
Klatt suggests trying these tips to help cope with your stress:
- Physical movement (walking/gym/exercise)
- Talking/spending time with others (including pets) that increase feelings of connection
- Spending time away from social media
- Spending time in nature
“I was happy to see that survey participants actually could identify what they did to address their stress,” says Klatt, who also holds adjunct professorships with Ohio State’s colleges of nursing and education and human ecology.
Stress impacts us at every level – our physiology, our mental attitude and our relationships at home and at work. It can be challenging to figure out what actions we can take to transform our stress, she said.
“Only 7% of survey participants said they do nothing to help manage their stress. This is good news that most people are aware that managing stress is a need,” Klatt said.
“Think of the most stressed-out person you know. Do you want to be around them or spend a lot of time with them? My guess would be ‘No.’ Whatever you are doing to manage your stress, keep doing it.”
Survey methodology
This study was conducted by SSRS on its Opinion Panel Omnibus platform. The SSRS Opinion Panel Omnibus is a national, twice-per-month, probability-based survey. Data collection was conducted from March 21 – March 24, 2025 among a sample of 1,005 respondents.
The survey was conducted via web (n=975) and telephone (n=30) and administered in English. The margin of error for total respondents is +/-3.7 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. All SSRS Opinion Panel Omnibus data are weighted to represent the target population of U.S. adults ages 18 or older.
About this stress research news
Author: Eileen Scahill
Source: Ohio State University
Contact: Eileen Scahill – Ohio State University
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
