Digital Social Interaction, Social Connectedness, and Loneliness Among University Students: An Integrative Evidence-Mapping Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65310/3a95r703Keywords:
digital interaction, loneliness, social capital, social connectedness, university students.Abstract
Digital social interaction is associated with both social connectedness and loneliness among university students, although findings differ across behaviors, populations, and research designs. This integrative evidence-mapping review examined relational mechanisms and methodological differences in literature primarily published between 2013 and 2026. Sources were identified through publisher-hosted scholarly resources, PubMed/PubMed Central, DOI-linked records, and backward citation tracking. The manuscript incorporates 32 bibliographic references, including empirical investigations, evidence syntheses, and foundational contributions, without treating them as independent eligible studies. Evidence was organized by population, research design, digital behavior, interpersonal mechanism, and reported outcomes. Reciprocal communication, relationship maintenance, and social capital were associated with favorable connectedness outcomes, while problematic engagement, comparison-oriented behavior, and behavioral dysregulation were associated with less favorable outcomes. Longitudinal evidence indicated potentially reciprocal relationships between loneliness and problematic social media use, whereas experimental findings supported behavior-specific intervention effects. Differences in outcome measurement, population characteristics, and research design restricted direct comparison. Incomplete search documentation and the absence of formal risk-of-bias scoring further limited evidentiary assessment. Digital engagement requires interpretation through communication functions, relational context, and behavioral regulation rather than exposure duration alone.
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Copyright (c) 2026 YunHaoChuang, Fu'ad Sholikhi, Syimir Asyraaf Bin Eddie Halim (Author)
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