New research published in Affective Science sheds light on how preferences for digital communication over face-to-face interaction are connected to social anxiety in adolescents. Using a novel neurophysiological marker called delta-beta coupling, the study shows that teenagers who rely heavily on digital media for emotional communication exhibit a brain activity pattern linked to emotional “over-control.”
Adolescence is a critical period of emotional and social development, but it’s also when mental health challenges, such as anxiety, often emerge. Social anxiety—a fear of being judged or negatively evaluated in social settings—can severely impact a teenager’s self-esteem, relationships, and long-term mental health. While digital media use is nearly universal among teens, its implications for mental health remain unclear.
Previous studies produced mixed findings, with some suggesting digital media use exacerbates anxiety, while others found no connection. Importantly, these studies often focused on how much time teens spent online rather than how they used digital media in comparison to face-to-face communication. The researchers aimed to address this gap by examining whether a preference for digital communication, coupled with underlying brain activity, could explain the link between media habits and social anxiety.
“Digital media use is incredibly common among adolescents. Psychologists, parents, and adolescents themselves have widely expressed concern regarding how digital media relates to adolescent well-being,” said study author Sarah Myruski, an assistant research professor at The Pennsylvania State University and associate director of the Emotion Development Laboratory.
“Of particular interest for our research team, digital media use has been associated with elevated anxiety, symptoms which commonly emerge within adolescents with 1 in 3 teens reaching distressing and impairing levels of anxiety by age 18. Socially anxious teens may be particularly vulnerable to potential risks of online behavior, as they are more likely to be uncomfortable in in-person social interactions and instead opt to socialize using digital media.”
“Beyond considering sheer frequency (e.g., hours per week), my work examines how some teens prefer to use digital media to communicate with others, as opposed to face-to-face interactions, and how this digital media preference relates to anxiety and well-being. Difficulties with emotion regulation may underlie why reliance on digital media predicts higher anxiety symptoms for some teens.”
The study included 80 adolescents, aged 13 to 16, who participated in a single lab visit. The participants completed questionnaires assessing their communication preferences and social anxiety levels. They also underwent an electroencephalogram (EEG) recording to measure delta-beta coupling, a marker of how well the brain’s emotion-generating and emotion-regulating systems work together.
Delta-beta coupling reflects the interaction between lower-order, emotional brain regions and higher-order, cognitive control areas. High levels of delta-beta coupling are thought to indicate inefficient or rigid emotional regulation, often seen in individuals with anxiety.
The researchers found that adolescents who preferred digital media for emotional communication—whether for sharing positive experiences or seeking support for negative ones—showed higher levels of delta-beta coupling. This brain activity pattern, in turn, was associated with elevated social anxiety symptoms. In essence, the study found an indirect pathway: digital media preferences were linked to social anxiety through a neural marker of emotional over-control.
“We found that a brain measure reflecting ‘over-controlled’ emotion regulation (called delta-beta coupling) may explain why teens who prefer digital media vs face-to-face may also have greater social anxiety symptoms,” Myruski told PsyPost. “Among ‘digital-preference’ teens, we think this heightened connectivity may reflect excessive neural rigidity, which could result in a heightened need for control in unpredictable social situations.”
“One surprising finding is that overall digital media preferences for emotion communication are related to this pattern of emotion regulation difficulties and social anxiety symptoms. This suggests that habitual preferences for online emotional exchanges relate to anxiety even when the communication is positive.”
But as with all research, there are some caveats. The findings are based on data from a single point in time, making it impossible to determine causality. For example, it’s unclear whether digital media preferences lead to poor emotional regulation and anxiety or whether anxious teens are more likely to turn to digital communication. Longitudinal studies are needed to examine how these relationships develop over time.
“We cannot draw any conclusions about causality or long-term patterns from this data alone,” Myruski noted. “But this work does highlight the importance of continuing to investigate not just how much time teens spend online, but what social-emotional behaviors they are engaging in online versus in-person.”
As the researchers continue to explore these connections, the goal is to provide evidence-based guidance for families and educators on fostering healthy technology habits. Interested families can find more information on ongoing studies at the research team’s website.
“Our ongoing work will continue to explore how adolescents use digital media and investigate why particular patterns of use may be beneficial or detrimental for certain teens,” Myruski explained. “Families interested in participating in this work are encouraged to find more information on our lab website: https://emotiondev.la.psu.edu/research/bolt-study/.”
Myruski also has some practical advice grounded in her research findings:
“We have some general recommendations guided by our research that readers may find helpful. First, we suggest encouraging a balance between digital media use and face-to-face interactions. Thinking of it as a ‘balance’ may be more realistic and helpful compared to designating harsher ‘restrictions’, especially for older teens who are more likely to report using digital media to build and maintain close friendships.”
“Second, sometimes in-person interactions are not possible – in those times it may be best to opt for forms of digital communication that include real-time social cues (things like voice calls or FaceTime) because those more closely resemble in-person interactions.”
“Finally, since our evidence highlights the pivotal role of emotion regulation, we can seek ways to practice emotion regulation through everyday activities like talking through emotions, journaling, artistic expression, and/or through therapeutic interventions specifically designed to bolster emotion regulation. An important part of emotion regulation is awareness of feelings, and to this end some may find it helpful to notice their mood before and after digital media use to reflect on how this use is serving them.”
The study, “Digital Media Use Preference Indirectly Relates to Adolescent Social Anxiety Symptoms Through Delta-Beta Coupling,” was authored by Sarah Myruski, Bridget Cahill, and Kristin A. Buss.
