Who weaved my behavior cocoon? The impact of digital media use on daily behaviors in an accelerated society

Whether information communication technologies extend or constrain our daily activities remains an important yet unsettled question. To reconcile the theoretical tensions between displacement and enhancement, this study examines how digital media have shaped the behavior cocoon, defined as a constrained behavioral space where individuals’ daily behaviors become increasingly homogenized (less diverse) and centralized around work. Using data from the United Kingdom Time Use Survey 2016–2020, we find that digital media use for work is likely to displace other activities and increase the formation of behavior cocoons, while digital media use for leisure tends to enhance other activities and inhibit the behavior cocoon. Interestingly, as work-life balance increases, the effect of digital media use for work on the behavior cocoon shifts from intensifying to mitigating. Our work sheds light on the tensions associated with the impact of digital media on modern life, providing new insights into the paradox of social acceleration, and reveals that work-life balance serves as a crucial mechanism for moderating technological tension.