Abstract
Digital disconnection has emerged as a concept describing the actions people take to limit their digital connectivity to enhance their well-being. To date, evidence on its effectiveness is mixed, leading to calls for greater consideration of why, how, when, and for whom digital disconnection works. This article responds to that call, presenting a framework that differentiates four key harms that contribute to experiences of digital ill-being (time displacement, interference, role blurring, and exposure effects). Using these four harms as a starting point, the framework explains (1) why people are motivated to digitally disconnect, (2) how specific disconnection strategies (i.e. placing limits on time, access, channels, and contents, interactions and features) may help them, and for whom (3) and under which conditions (when) these strategies can be effective.
Citation
Vanden Abeele, M. M. P., Vandebosch, H., Koster, E., de Leyn, T., Van Gaeveren, K., de Segovia Vicente, D., Van Bruyssel, S., van Timmeren, T., De Marez, L., Poels, K., DeSmet, A., Wever, B., Verbruggen, M., & Baillien, E. (2024). Why, How, When, and for Whom does Digital Disconnection Work? A Process-Based Framework of Digital Disconnection. Communication Theory. https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/qtad016