Do people with elevated social anxiety respond differently to digital and face-to-face communications? Two daily diary studies with null effects.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Preregistered observational daily diary and ecological momentary assessment cohort studies
PubMed 32739703 · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2020.07.069
What was done
Two preregistered daily diary studies investigated how social anxiety (SA) relates to communication medium choice and emotional experience in daily life. Study 1 sampled college students (N = 125) using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Study 2 sampled community adults (N = 303) using the day reconstruction method (DRM) to assess emotional states during face-to-face communication versus digital communication, including synchronous (phone/video) and asynchronous (text/instant messaging) formats.
What was found
The abstract reports directional findings without specific numbers, effect sizes, or confidence intervals. Across both studies, SA did not predict the likelihood of choosing digital over face-to-face communication. SA was associated with less positive and more negative emotions across all communication media. In Study 2, whether digital communication was synchronous or asynchronous did not impact the association between SA and emotional response.
Why it matters
These findings challenge the assumption that digital communication serves as an emotionally safe alternative for individuals with elevated social anxiety. SA-related emotional impairments persist across both offline and digital platforms.
Limits
The abstract reports no numerical data or effect sizes. Both studies relied on self-report via EMA and DRM rather than objective passive communication tracking. Event-contingent sampling was not used, which may have limited power to detect subtle cross-level interaction effects.