Why, how, when, and for whom does digital disconnection work? A process-based framework of digital disconnection

Mariek M.P. Vanden Abeele; Heidi Vandebosch; Ernst H.W. Koster; Tom De Leyn; Kyle Van Gaeveren; David de Segovia Vicente; Sara Van Bruyssel; Tim van Timmeren; Lieven De Marez; Karolien Poels; Ann DeSmet; Bram De Wever; Marijke Verbruggen; Elfi Baillien

doi:10.1093/ct/qtad016

Why, how, when, and for whom does digital disconnection work? A process-based framework of digital disconnection

Mariek M.P. Vanden Abeele^*, Heidi Vandebosch, Ernst H.W. Koster, Tom De Leyn, Kyle Van Gaeveren, David de Segovia Vicente, Sara Van Bruyssel, Tim van Timmeren, Lieven De Marez, Karolien Poels, Ann DeSmet, Bram De Wever, Marijke Verbruggen, Elfi Baillien

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

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 these calls, 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.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	3-17
Journal	Communication Theory
Volume	34
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/qtad016
Publication status	Published - Feb 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
# The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of International Communication Association.

Funding

Funding support for this article was provided by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the European Research Council Starting Grant agreement 'DISCONNECT' No. 950635 and the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO-Vlaanderen) under Grant agreement 'Disconnect to Reconnect' No. S005923N.

Funders	Funder number
European Union	950635
Research Foundation Flanders (FWO-Vlaanderen)	S005923N
European Research Council (ERC)	950635

Keywords

digital disconnection
digital well-being
harms
interventions
mechanisms

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10.1093/ct/qtad016Licence: CC BY

qtad016Final published version, 675 KBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

Vanden Abeele, M. M. P., Vandebosch, H., Koster, E. H. W., De Leyn, T., Van Gaeveren, K., Vicente, D. D. S., Van Bruyssel, S., van Timmeren, T., De Marez, L., Poels, K., DeSmet, A., De 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, 34(1), 3-17. https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/qtad016

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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 these calls, 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.",

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Vanden Abeele, MMP, Vandebosch, H, Koster, EHW, De Leyn, T, Van Gaeveren, K, Vicente, DDS, Van Bruyssel, S, van Timmeren, T, De Marez, L, Poels, K, DeSmet, A, De 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, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 3-17. https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/qtad016

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Why, how, when, and for whom does digital disconnection work? A process-based framework of digital disconnection

Abstract

Bibliographical note

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Keywords

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