Most adolescents feel pressure to be constantly available to their friends through digital means. For boys, this pressure, called digital entrapment, is linked to increases in friendship conflict and feeling less healthy one year later. Image credit: FreePik
By Spoorthi Marada
For many teens in today’s online world, the pressure to always be available to certain friends over the phone or across various online platforms can be a source of stress. In the context of specific relationships, such as a best friendship, this digital availability stress is called digital entrapment. Recent research from the Winston National Center on Technology, Brain, and Psychological Development found that teens’ feelings of digital entrapment are linked to conflict in their friendship, and for boys, to negative health outcomes.
Researchers led by PhD student Kara Fox surveyed 714 high schoolers about their feelings of digital entrapment, their relationship with their best friend, their overall health, and their mental health. These surveys were administered twice, one year apart, which allowed the researchers to examine change over time.
The study found that over three-quarters of adolescents reported experiencing digital entrapment by their best friend – that is, feeling pressured to respond quickly and always be available to their best friend via smartphone. In both boys and girls, increased feelings of digital entrapment by their best friend were associated with greater friendship conflict and worse reports of their own general health. In boys, greater digital entrapment also was linked to worse perceptions of their general health and increased friendship conflict over time. In girls, greater digital entrapment was weakly associated with current depressive symptoms, but the depressive symptoms did not increase over time.
These findings suggest that demands of close friendships, as experienced within digital contexts, may be different for adolescent boys and girls. It is possible that the obligation and pressure to be digitally available is more typical within the dynamics of girls’ friendships, so it does not cause extra stress or any health issues. Boys may have different social expectations that make digital entrapment extra stressful, to the point of harming their health. These findings highlight a new component in teenage friendships and social experiences in the digital age that may be a factor in their future health.
Considerations
This study focused on digital stress experienced by teenagers with regards to their best friend, but it cannot determine whether the harms of digital entrapment extend beyond the single best friendship to apply to more peer interactions. More research needs to be done to further investigate adolescents’ digital stress and friendship dynamics, and gender differences in these experiences.
Article reference
Fox, K.A., Nick, E., Nesi, J., Telzer, E.H., & Prinstein, M.J. (2023). Why haven’t you texted me back? Adolescents’ digital entrapment, friendship conflict, and perceived general health. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology.