In this study, we examined how technology impacts adolescents’ perceptions of, and affective responses to solitude, as well as how adolescents’ own motivations for solitude (shyness, affinity for aloneness) were related to these reactions. Participants were N = 437 adolescents (297 girls; M_age = 16.15 years, standard deviation (SD) = .50) who were presented with a series of hypothetical vignettes asking them to imagine themselves in the context of pure solitude (alone in their room with the door closed), as well as being physically alone but engaged in increasing levels of virtual social engagement, including passive (e.g., watching videos, scrolling, but no direct social engagement), active (e.g., texting), and audio-visual (e.g., Facetime) technology use. Following each vignette, participants reported their perceptions of being alone and positive/negative affective responses. We also measured general motivations for solitude (shyness, affinity for aloneness). Among the results, adolescents perceived themselves as less alone in vignettes depicting increasing virtual social engagement. Affective benefits of increased virtual engagement were also found (e.g., less loneliness/boredom/sadness, greater social connection/contentment). However, these effects were moderated by solitude motivations, with different patterns evident as a function of participant shyness and affinity for aloneness. Findings highlight the importance of considering the nature of adolescents’ technology use when alone, as well as motivations for solitude, when considering links between solitude and well-being.

在这项研究中，我们研究了技术如何影响青少年对孤独的看法和情感反应，以及青少年自身的孤独动机（害羞、对孤独的亲和力）如何与这些反应相关。参与者是N  = 437 名青少年（297 名女孩；M_年龄 = 16.15 岁，标准差 ( SD ) = .50）孤独（独自在房间里，关着门），以及身体上独自一人但参与越来越多的虚拟社交活动，包括被动（例如，观看视频、滚动，但没有直接的社交活动）、主动（例如，发短信)，以及视听（例如，Facetime）技术的使用。在每个小插曲之后，参与者报告了他们对孤独的看法和积极/消极的情感反应。我们还测量了孤独的一般动机（害羞、对孤独的亲和力）。在结果中，青少年认为自己在描述虚拟社交参与度增加的小插图中不那么孤单。还发现增加虚拟参与的情感好处（例如，减少孤独/无聊/悲伤，增加社交联系/满足感）。然而，这些影响被孤独动机所缓和，不同的模式明显是参与者害羞和对孤独的亲和力的函数。研究结果强调了在考虑孤独与幸福之间的联系时，考虑青少年独处时使用技术的性质以及孤独的动机的重要性。