Impact of Digital Overload on Emotional Balance among Youth

Abstract

Continuous connectivity has made digital overload a routine condition of young adult life rather than an occasional disruption. This study examines how perceived digital overload relates to emotional balance among youth, and whether perceived stress mediates and cognitive reappraisal moderates that relationship. A cross-sectional survey was administered to 486 university students aged 18–25 years across three institutions in the National Capital Region, India. Digital overload was measured through a 15-item index covering information, communication, and system-feature overload; emotional balance was measured using the affect-balance score of the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE-B). Perceived stress, fear of missing out (FoMO), problematic social media use, and two emotion-regulation strategies were assessed as correlates. Digital overload correlated negatively with emotional balance (r = −.52, p < .001) and explained an additional 14% of variance in emotional balance after demographics, screen time, and sleep duration were controlled. Perceived stress mediated 54.1% of the total effect, and cognitive reappraisal significantly buffered it (B = 1.18, p = .004). Participants in the highest overload tertile reported a mean affect balance near zero (M = −0.92), compared with clearly positive balance in the lowest tertile (M = 6.41). Findings indicate that the experience of being overloaded, rather than raw screen exposure, is the stronger correlate of emotional equilibrium, and that reappraisal-based training may be a more feasible intervention target than blanket screen-time reduction.