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Draft:Digital Emotion Regulation

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Digital Emotion Regulation refers to the use of digital technology to change how a person is feeling. While any technology experience might influence a user’s emotions, it becomes emotion regulation when the influence is intentional - that is, where technology is used "as a tool for strategically influencing our affective states (including emotions, moods, and stress levels)"[1].

Digital emotion regulation is receiving research attention because it may be a driver of technology use[2], including maladaptive use, and may impact wellbeing[3] [4]. Recent work builds on earlier research on emotion regulation more generally as well as human-computer interaction and other topics.

Digital emotion regulation can involve a variety of technologies and goals, for example using videogames or short-form video to distract from unpleasant thoughts or situations, using music-streaming apps to feel energized before work or a social occasion, using messaging platforms for social sharing of emotions, and using wellbeing apps to manage stress[5].


Digital vs Traditional Emotion Regulation

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Digital emotion regulation has emerged following the widespread adoption of consumer digital technologies. The broader category of emotion regulation (of which digital emotion regulation is a recent subtype) is a universal phenomenon studied by psychology research and defined as: “How individuals influence which emotions they have, when they have them, and how they experience and express them.”[6]

Studies conducted in the 20th century catalogued how people regulated emotion - unsurprisingly these did not observe digital strategies[7]. Digital emotion regulation represents in part a digitalisation of those traditional practices and resources. For this reason, research into digital emotion regulation draws upon earlier research including:

People have long used resources such as mass media and social interaction to support emotion regulation. Digital technologies change how such resources are accessed, selected, personalised and interacted with, making a greater variety of resources available at more times and places. Digitalisation also brings novel affordances, such as combining multiple resources in one portable platform, and the ability to learn user preferences over time[5].

Influence of Digitalisation on Emotion Regulation

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While digital emotion regulation inherits goals and outcomes from pre-digital practices, digitalisation also introduces new affordances for emotion regulation[1].

  • Digital platforms offer frictionless, instant access to a range of emotion regulation resources, including a near-limitless variety of emotion-modulating media, and social sharing of emotions
  • Portable networked devices make these resources available at virtually any time and place.
  • Devices such as the smartphone bring multiple kinds of resources together, allowing users to develop a personalised toolkit of emotion regulation resources that suit their preferences and contexts.
  • Interaction design with sophisticated user testing has led to technology user experiences that are engaging and pleasurable, independent of the activity that the user is engaged in.
  • Recommender algorithms allow digital platforms to progressively refine an understanding of what engages users, at individual and population levels.

Technology users do not necessarily distinguish digital from traditional emotion regulation practices. A study observed interactions between online and offline emotional contexts, with young people using online resources to manage emotions triggered offline, and offline resources to manage emotions triggered online[4]. Researchers have suggested that education programs in emotional intelligence and digital literacy be integrated to form “digital emotional intelligence” programs, since the emotional and digital aspects of life are now intertwined.[15]

Designed vs Spontaneous Digital Emotion Regulation

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Research into digital emotion regulation has cohered around two distinct, complementary approaches.

One approach seeks to design novel digital tools that support emotion regulation in the moment, or teach emotion regulation skills. The goal is to create and test interventions that help people to regulate their emotions more effectively[16] [17] [18].

The other approach studies spontaneous or emergent emotion regulation practices that involve people using consumer technologies that were not explicitly designed to support emotion regulation[5] [3] [4]. The goal is to discover where technology use represents emotion regulation, and to understand how this affordance influences technology adoption and well-being.

These two threads of research can inform each other. Observation of spontaneous regulation yields knowledge about why, where and when people want to use technology for this purpose – this can offer insights for designing interventions that work and that people want to use. At the same time, research into interventions yields insights into how existing consumer technologies can be enhanced to support wellbeing.[19]

Technologies Appropriated for Spontaneous Emotion Regulation

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A number of studies have investigated spontaneous emotion regulation practices that involve a specific technology, including (listed in order of publication):

Other research aims to study the breadth of technologies that individuals use for emotion regulation. Participants in a diary study reported employing a diverse range of emotion-shaping tools and strategies for coping with daily challenges, managing routines, and supporting work and social goals in everyday life[5].

Benefits and Harms

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Spontaneous digital emotion regulation can lead to both benefits and harms.

Digitalisation makes some regulation resources more readily accessible at more times and places. This may benefit people, since difficulties with emotion regulation are associated with mental ill health.[1]

However, while qualitative studies find that participants appreciate the benefits of digital emotion regulation[5], the benefits may be short-lived[2], with momentary improvements in wellbeing not persisting to the next day [3]. Furthermore, emotion regulation affordances may motivate people to over-use technology[27]. An experience-sampling study found that up to 50% of phone use was in the service of emotion regulation.[2] Digital regulation by parents of a child’s emotions may hinder the child’s development of self-regulation skills.[29]

Future Directions

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Emerging technologies may offer new ways to regulate emotion digitally, bringing new opportunities and risks.

Researchers are exploring the possibility for influencing emotional states directly through electrical brain stimulation rather than via cognitive processes. Brain stimulation can be digitally controlled and so could potentially be used to power an emotion regulation tool. For example, researchers successfully treated depression using a brain implant that detects emotions and stimulates the ventral striatum in response.[30] Less invasive approaches include transcranial direct current stimulation, which was shown to improve performance in videogamers.[31]

Chatbots powered by generative AI such as Character.AI and Replika are being marketed to young people as companions that can offer social and emotional support.[32][33][34] A 2024 study found that one in five adolescents identify as dependent on AI, and that anxiety and depression predict AI dependence, mediated by the use of AI for escapism and companionship.[27]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 Wadley, G.; Smith, W.; Koval, P.; Gross, J.J. (2020). "Digital emotion regulation". Current Directions in Psychological Science. 29 (4): 412–418. doi:10.1177/0963721420920592. hdl:11343/235572.
  2. 1 2 3 Shi, Y.; Koval, P.; Kostakos, V.; Gonvalves, J.; Wadley, G. (2023). ""Instant Happiness": Smartphones as tools for everyday emotion regulation". International Journal of Human-Computer Studies. 170 102958. doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2022.102958.
  3. 1 2 3 Scott, R.A.; Zimmer-Gembeck, M.J.; Gardner, A.A.; Hawes, T.; Modecki, K.L.; Duffy, A.L.; Farrell, L.J.; Waters, A.M. (2024). "Daily use of digital technologies to feel better: Adolescents' digital emotion regulation, emotions, loneliness, and recovery, considering prior emotional problems". Journal of Adolescence. 96 (3): 539–550. doi:10.1002/jad.12259. PMID 37811912.
  4. 1 2 3 Hollenstein, T.; Faulkner, K. (2024). "Adolescent digital emotion regulation". Journal of Research on Adolescence. 34 (4): 1341–1351. doi:10.1111/jora.13009. PMC 11606268. PMID 39119778.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Smith, W.; Wadley, G.; Webber, S.; Tag, B.; Kostakos, V.; Koval, P.; Gross, J.J. (2022). "Digital Emotion Regulation in Everyday Life". CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. pp. 1–15. doi:10.1145/3491102.3517573. ISBN 978-1-4503-9157-3.
  6. 1 2 Gross, J.J. (2015). "Emotion regulation: Current status and future prospects". Psychological Inquiry. 26 (1): 1–26. doi:10.1080/1047840X.2014.940781.
  7. 1 2 Parkinson, B.; Totterdell, P. (1999). "Classifying affect-regulation strategies". Cognition & Emotion. 13 (3): 277–303. doi:10.1080/026999399379285.
  8. ↑ Tamir, M. (2016). "Why do people regulate their emotions? A taxonomy of motives in emotion regulation". Personality and Social Psychology Review. 20 (3): 199–222. doi:10.1177/1088868315586325. PMID 26015392.
  9. ↑ Hassenzahl, M.; Platz, A.; Burmester, M.; Lehner, K. (2000). "Hedonic and ergonomic quality aspects determine a software's appeal". Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. pp. 201–208. doi:10.1145/332040.332432. ISBN 1-58113-216-6.
  10. ↑ McCarthy, John; Wright, Peter (2004). Technology as Experience. MIT Press. ISBN 9780262256643.
  11. ↑ Katz, E.; Blumler, J.G.; Gurevitch, M. (1973). "Uses and gratifications research". The Public Opinion Quarterly. 37 (4): 509–523. doi:10.1086/268109. JSTOR 2747854.
  12. ↑ Reinecke, L. (2017). "Mood Management Theory". The International Encyclopedia of Media Effects. pp. 1–13. doi:10.1002/9781118783764.wbieme0085. ISBN 978-1-118-78404-4.
  13. 1 2 Randall, W.M.; Rickard, N.S. (2017). "Reasons for personal music listening: A mobile experience sampling study of emotional outcomes". Psychology of Music. 45 (4): 479–495. doi:10.1177/0305735616666 (inactive 28 September 2026).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of September 2026 (link)
  14. ↑ Sherer, J.; Levounis, P. (2022). "Technological addictions". Current Psychiatry Reports. 24 (9): 399–406. doi:10.1007/s11920-022-01351-2. PMID 35792965.
  15. ↑ Audrin, C.; Audrin, B. (2024). "Emotional intelligence in digital interactions - A call for renewed assessments". Personality and Individual Differences. 223 112613. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2024.112613.
  16. ↑ Slovak, P.; Antle, A.; Theofanopoulou, N.; Daudén Roquet, C.; Gross, J.; Isbister, K. (2023). "Designing for emotion regulation interventions: An agenda for HCI theory and research". ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction. 30 (1): 1-51. doi:10.1145/356989.
  17. ↑ Bettis, A.H.; Burke, T.A.; Nesi, J.; Liu, R.T. (2022). "Digital technologies for emotion-regulation assessment and intervention: A conceptual review". Clinical Psychological Science. 10 (1): 3–26. doi:10.1177/21677026211011982. PMC 8846444. PMID 35174006.
  18. ↑ Reynard, S.; Dias, J.; Mitic, M.; Schrank, B.; Woodcock, K.A. (2022). "Digital interventions for emotion regulation in children and early adolescents: Systematic review and meta-analysis". JMIR Serious Games. 10 (3) e31456. doi:10.2196/31456. PMC 9440412. PMID 35984681.
  19. ↑ Lowe-Brown, X.; Koval, P.; Glasser, S.; Wadley, G. (2026). "Designing for Emotion Regulation in Popular Music Apps: Evaluation of MoodDJ, a Novel Spotify Plugin". Proceedings of the 2026 Designing Interactive Systems Conference. pp. 2559–2579. doi:10.1145/3800645.38129 (inactive 28 September 2026). ISBN 979-8-4007-2563-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of September 2026 (link)
  20. ↑ Schull, Natasha D. (2012). Addiction by design: Machine gambling in Las Vegas. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691160887.
  21. ↑ Bui, M.; Kemp, E. (2013). "E-tail emotion regulation: Examining online hedonic product purchases". International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management. 41 (2): 155–170. doi:10.1108/09590551311304338.
  22. ↑ Myrick, J.G. (2015). "Emotion regulation, procrastination, and watching cat videos online: Who watches Internet cats, why, and to what effect?". Computers in Human Behavior. 52: 168–176. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2015.06.001.
  23. ↑ Villani, D.; Carissoli, C.; Triberti, S.; Marchetti, A.; Gilli, G.; Riva, G. (2018). "Videogames for emotion regulation: A systematic review". Games for Health Journal. 7 (2): 85–99. doi:10.1089/g4h.2017.0108. hdl:2434/696407. PMID 29424555.
  24. ↑ Rozgonjuk, D.; Elhai, J.D. (2021). "Emotion regulation in relation to smartphone use: Process smartphone use mediates the association between expressive suppression and problematic smartphone use". Current Psychology. 40 (7): 3246–3255. doi:10.1007/s12144-019-00271-4.
  25. ↑ Davis, K.; Landesman, R.; Yoon, J.; Kim, J.; Munoz Lopez, D.E.; Magis-Weinberg, L.; Hiniker, A. (2025). ""You Go Through So Many Emotions Scrolling Through Instagram": How Teens Use Instagram to Regulate Their Emotions". Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. pp. 1–16. doi:10.1145/3706598.3713844. ISBN 979-8-4007-1394-1.
  26. ↑ Peng, L.; Wang, J.; Zheng, N.; Guo, X. (2024). "Traversing emotional spaces: Social media affordances and emotion regulation in times of physical isolation". Social Media + Society. 10 (1) 20563051241237273. doi:10.1177/20563051241237273.
  27. 1 2 3 Huang, S.; Lai, X.; Ke, L.; Li, Y.; Wang, H.; Zhao, X.; Dai, X.; Wang, Y. (2024). "AI technology panic—is AI dependence bad for mental health? A cross-lagged panel model and the mediating roles of motivations for AI use among adolescents". Psychology Research and Behavior Management. 17: 1087–1102. doi:10.2147/PRBM.S440889. PMC 10944174. PMID 38495087.
  28. ↑ Wester, J.; de Jong, S.; Pohl, H.; van Berkel, N. (2025). "Using LLMs for self-care: User and counsellor perspectives". International Journal of Human-Computer Studies. 203 103589. doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2025.103589.
  29. ↑ Konok, V.; Binet, M.; Korom, A.; Pogány, A.; Miklósi, A.; Fitzpatrick, C. (2024). "Cure for tantrums? Longitudinal associations between parental digital emotion regulation and children's self-regulatory skills". Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 3 1276154. doi:10.3389/frcha.2024.1276154. PMC 11731827. PMID 39816597.
  30. ↑ Scangos, K.W.; Khambhati, A.N.; Daly, P.M.; Makhoul, G.S.; Sugrue, L.P.; Zamanian, H.; Liu, T.; Rao, V.; Sellers, K.; Dawes, H.; Staf, P.; Krystal, A.; Chang, E.F. (2021). "Closed-loop neuromodulation in an individual with treatment-resistant depression". Nature Medicine. 27 (10): 1696–1700. doi:10.1038/s41591-021-01480-w. PMC 11219029. PMID 34608328.
  31. ↑ Friehs, M.A.; Dechant, M.; Vedress, S.; Frings, C.; Mandryk, R.L. (2021). "Shocking advantage! Improving digital game performance using non-invasive brain stimulation". International Journal of Human-Computer Studies. 148 102582. doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2020.102582.
  32. ↑ Center for Humane Technology. "AI in Society". Center for Humane Technology. Retrieved 28 September 2026.
  33. ↑ Hawkins, Amy (26 August 2026). "In China, talking to AI is normal. Now the government fears it might replace human intimacy". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 September 2026.
  34. ↑ "Chatbots, AI Companions, and Youth". Children and Screens. Institute of Digital Media and Child Development. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
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