Youth social anxiety in the digital age: reconceptualising cognitive-behavioural processes

Journal article

Digital environments and social media have fundamentally transformed social interactions for young people, offering both opportunities and challenges for mental health. Individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD), a condition characterised an intense fear of negative evaluation in social situations, may be particularly vulnerable to the dynamics of these digital environments, which now constitute a large part of adolescents’ social worlds. This paper examines the intersection of computer-mediated communication (CMC) and social anxiety in adolescence. We propose a framework that reconceptualises the Clark and Wells cognitive model of social anxiety in light of the distinctive affordances of social digital environments. Specifically, we integrate the model’s key components by considering how digital contexts influence (1) the interpretation of social cues, (2) processing the self as a social object, (3) the use of safety behaviours, and (4) pre- and post-event processing. We outline directions for future research and clinical implications.

Authors: Skjerdingstad, N; Leigh, E

• Publication status: Accepted
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Springer Nature
• Journal: Nature Mental Health
• Acceptance date: 2026-03-02
• EISSN: 2731-6076
• Language: English