Digital mediation and the reproduction of communication anxiety in family communication

Communication anxiety is traditionally conceptualized as an individual psychological condition or trait that precedes and hinders interaction. However, the ubiquity of digital media in contemporary family life challenges this assumption, particularly in environments where communication is persistent, documented, and bound by non-negotiable relational obligations. Through an interpretive conceptual analysis of the literature across communication anxiety, family studies, and digital mediation, this article identifies the limitations of individual-centered models and proposes a systemic alternative. The analysis culminates in the Digital Relational Anxiety Framework (DRAF), which explains the reproduction of anxiety through four interacting mechanisms: amplified responsiveness expectations relational visibility and surveillance the intensification of family roles, and the emotional permanence of mediated communication. By shifting the locus of anxiety from the individual to the communication system, the DRAF reframes anxiety as a systemic relational outcome of the digital family ecology. This synthesis provides a new analytical foundation for bridging fragmented theoretical traditions and offers directions for future research into the emotional landscapes of mediated family communication.