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Digital Contact Does Not Promote Wellbeing, but Face-to-Face Does: A Cross-National Survey During the Covid-19 Pandemic

With restrictions on opportunities for face to face (FtF) interactions, Covid-19 lockdowns test the promises of digitally mediated communication (DMC) to foster social contact and wellbeing. In a multinational sample (n= 6436), we investigated how different modes of contact relate to wellbeing during a global pandemic. DMC was more popular than FtF and Covid-19 death rates played a bigger role in DMC use than state stringency measures. FtF contact was positively associated and messaging negatively associated with wellbeing. FtF was especially positive for people who did not perceive any loved ones in their household as vulnerable to the disease, yet did not vary with people’s perception of their own vulnerability. The results suggest that, in the face of the pandemic, men and women of all ages relied on DMC over FtF contact. Despite tangible costs to wellbeing, during the pandemic, people endeavoured to be physically distanced but not socially isolated.