Emotional reactivity to delayed replies: Temporal dynamics, context, and age differences

Abstract

Understanding how reply latency in digital messaging shapes emotional experience is essential for designing inclusive and emotionally intelligent communication environments. Drawing on chronemics and Socioemotional Selectivity Theory (SST), this study examines how the occurrence and anticipated onset latency of negative emotions vary across relational contexts, user roles, message visibility, emotion types, and age. A large-scale online survey (N = 2367; ages 15–59) used ecologically valid messaging scenarios on LINE—a platform functionally similar to WhatsApp and other global services—to assess both whether and when participants anticipated negative emotions (anxiety, sadness, anger, guilt) would emerge in response to delayed replies. Binary and ordinal logistic regression analyses revealed that reply latency increased the likelihood of anticipated negative emotions, with anxiety reported as the earliest and most frequent response. Anticipated emotional onset was earlier when messages were read and in parent contexts, and role-related patterns indicated accelerated guilt among those delaying replies. Nonlinear age patterns showed heightened sensitivity among younger users and attenuated responses with age. These findings highlight reply latency as a temporally structured and context-dependent cue shaped by relational and generational contexts. Theoretically, this study advances chronemics and socioemotional communication research by reconceptualizing reply latency as a temporally structured socioemotional signal and by explicitly distinguishing emotional occurrence from anticipated onset timing. Practically, it informs platform design and digital literacy initiatives aimed at fostering more inclusive, intergenerationally attuned communication environments.