Stressed by tech? Here’s how to find help

antibiotic: A germ-killing substance, usually prescribed as a medicine (or sometimes as a feed additive to promote the growth of livestock). It does not work against viruses.

bacterial: Having to do with bacteria, single-celled organisms. These dwell nearly everywhere on Earth, from the bottom of the sea to inside animals.

bandwidth: The maximum rate at which the quantity of something (usually data or signals) can move through wires or optical fibers over some period of time. It can also be used to refer to the brain’s ability to manage complex or competing tasks. 

binge: To do or consume something to excess — usually an unhealthy excess.

clinical: (in medicine) A term that refers to diagnoses, treatments or experiments involving people.

cyber: A prefix that refers to computers or to a type of system in which computerized or online communication occurs.

developmental: (in biology) An adjective that refers to the changes an organism undergoes from conception through adulthood. Those changes often involve chemistry, size and sometimes even shape.

federal: Of or related to a country’s national government (not to any state or local government within that nation). For instance, the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health are both agencies of the U.S. federal government.

FOMO: Urban slang for fear of missing out.

media: A term for the ways information is delivered and shared within a society. It encompasses not only the traditional media — newspapers, magazines, radio and television — but also digital outlets, such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and WhatsApp. The newer, digital media are sometimes referred to as social media. The singular form of this term is medium.

mentor: An individual who lends his or her experience to advise someone starting out in a field. In science, teachers or researchers often mentor students or younger scientists by helping them to refine their research questions. Mentors also can offer feedback on how young investigators prepare to conduct research or interpret their data.

multitask: To perform more than one task at a time. Computers often do this. People can too, such as when they listen during a meeting and take notes at the same time. Research has shown, h owever, that few people can truly multitask well; usually, doing two or more tasks at once will mean that the quality of at least one of those tasks will suffer.

online: (n.) On the internet. (adj.) A term for what can be found or accessed on the internet.

peer: (noun) Someone who is an equal, based on age, education, status, training or some other features. (verb) To look into something, searching for details.

persistent: An adjective for something that is long-lasting.

psychologist: A scientist or mental-health professional who studies the mind, especially in relation to actions and behaviors. Some work with people. Others may conduct experiments with animals (usually rodents) to test how their minds respond to different stimuli and conditions.

sibling: An offspring that shares the same parents (with its brother or sister).

social media: Digital media that allow people to connect with each other (often anonymously) and to share information. Examples include Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and WhatsApp.

social work: A profession in which people are trained to help others who face some type of limitations or challenges. Those challenges may be mental, physical, financial or social (their ability to interact effectively with others). People who work in this field are known as social workers.

stress: (in biology) A factor — such as unusual temperatures, movements, moisture or pollution — that affects the health of a species or ecosystem. (in psychology) A mental, physical, emotional or behavioral reaction to an event or circumstance (stressor) that disturbs a person or animal’s usual state of being or places increased demands on a person or animal; psychological stress can be either positive or negative. (in physics) Pressure or tension exerted on a material object.

tactic: An action or plan of action to accomplish a particular feat.

tween: A child just approaching his or her teenage years. Tween is a term usually used for 11- to 12-year olds.