Digital Isolation and Boundary Negotiation: A Study of Cyber-Severing among Chinese Emerging Adults
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Keywords
going low-contact, digital isolation, digital media, family relationships, emerging adulthood
Abstract
In contemporary China, young people aged 18 to 25 who study or work away from home are increasingly choosing to practice "Going low contact" (This word corresponds to "Duanqin" in Chinese internet slang, referring to minimizing contact with one's family of origin and maintaining only superficial politeness for the sake of mental health.) with their families of origin. This phenomenon represents not only physical isolation in the traditional sense but also a form of psychological separation mediated by electronic devices. This study conceptualizes this boundary management as "Cyber-Severing," exploring how emerging adults navigate the tension between the viscous kinship bonds of East Asian families and their developmental need for individual identity. Adopting a qualitative phenomenological approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 32 participants selected based on Family Communication Patterns Theory (FCPT). Thematic analysis reveals that youth actively enact structural information segregation and perform low-cost emotional labor to circumvent intense parental surveillance and conformity pressures, transforming social media into a shield for personal privacy. Consequently, their emotional dependence is migrating from ascriptive kinship ties toward algorithmically curated affinity communities, reducing family interactions to instrumental and ritualistic maintenance. Ultimately, Cyber-Severing is not a complete familial rupture, but a covert, rational renegotiation of intergenerational power and boundaries. It signals a profound digital reformation of traditional filial piety into a modern, adaptive contract of intimacy at a distance.
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