Day-to-day social interactions online and offline: the interplay between interaction mode, interaction quality, and momentary well-being
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Digital social interactions differ in many ways from face-to-face interactions. This study examines four preregistered hypotheses on the within-person interplay between interaction mode (i.e., digital vs. face-to-face interactions), interaction quality, and momentary well-being. Young adults from Spain ( N $_{1}$ = 216) and the Netherlands ( N $_{2}$ = 22)—provided 5,116 and 1,386 Ecological Momentary Assessments (EMA), respectively. In the Spanish sample, there were no differences in interaction quality between digital and face-to-face interactions, whereas in the Dutch sample, digital interactions were of higher quality. Interaction quality was positively associated with momentary well-being in both samples. Momentary well-being was higher after face-to-face interactions in the Spanish but not in the Dutch sample. Interaction quality did not mediate the relationship between interaction mode and well-being; instead, it moderated it in the Spanish sample. Although interaction quality was consistently associated with momentary well-being, it only partially explains why face-to-face interactions differ from digital ones.
DOI: 10.5167/uzh-282976
Authors: Elmer, Timon, Fernández, Aurelio, Hall, Jeffrey A., Stadel, Marie
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7124715376
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