Seeking a stable connection: Consequences of live stream social surrogacy following ostracism

Ostracism (i.e., the experience of being excluded and ignored) is an everyday occurrence that threatens targets’ fundamental needs for belonging. Given its prevalence, understanding the implications of ostracism for targets’ health and well-being is incredibly important. Despite theorists’ suggestion that live stream communities may compensate for thwarted affiliative needs following ostracism, researchers have yet to investigate the use of this social strategy and its potential consequences for ostracized individuals. We proposed that ostracism predicts greater live stream emotional connectedness as a form of social compensation. However, we further predicted that this would carry implications for insomnia, substance use, and antisocial tendencies. Altogether, we proposed a mediation model in which ostracism would be related to greater insomnia, substance use, and antisocial tendencies through high live stream emotional connectedness. Participants completed validated measures of their ostracism, live stream emotional connectedness, insomnia, substance use, and antisocial tendencies. The results provide empirical support for our model and suggest that, despite the appeal of live stream connectedness for coping with ostracism, there may be a myriad of harmful consequences associated with it, carrying implications for physical, psychological, and relational well-being. These findings are of importance to policymakers, clinicians, and software developers who seek to intervene in the demonstrated relationships. Copyright © 2024 American Psychological Association.