Me-time in the digital age How digital technology can undermine and support emerging adults' need for solitude

Solitude, typically defined as the absence of social interaction, plays an important role in emerging adults’ psychological well-being and development. At the same time, emerging adults live in a digitally connected world in which social interaction is almost always possible if not expected. To understand how emerging adults can fulfil their need for solitude in this context, this dissertation provides a structured examination of emerging adults’ need for solitude in the digital age across three empirical studies (Chapters 2–4). First, it proposes a novel conceptualisation of the need for solitude and develops and validates a self-report measure to capture individual differences in this need: the Need for Solitude (NFS) scale (Chapter 2). It then investigates how emerging adults themselves understand the compatibility of solitude and digital technology (Chapter 3). Finally, it examines which types of digital platforms are more or less likely to support important solitude functions, namely recovery and reflection (Chapter 4). Across these studies, this dissertation shows that the need for solitude can be conceptualised and measured as a distinct individual difference among emerging adults, and that digital technology is neither inherently compatible nor incompatible with its fulfilment. Rather, whether digital technology supports or undermines its fulfilment depends on technology design, individuals’ need for solitude level, and the specific solitude function sought. Overall, this dissertation provides a conceptual and methodological foundation for future research on solitude in the digital age while offering practical implications for both technology use and design.