Deciphering other people’s thoughts and feelings tends to generate considerable uncertainty. In a conversation, for instance, how does one know if another person’s smile is sincere? In real life, physical cues like body language and tone of voice provide some tangible hints. In the virtual sphere, a smile takes the form of an even harder-to-read emoji. And all physical cues disappear.
How people experience — and resolve — social uncertainty is changing shape as communications shift online, researchers write in the April Trends in Cognitive Science. That shift affects everyone. But teens, who are just starting to form their social identities, might be particularly vulnerable.
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