Published Paper Details:

In the hyperconnected era, digital platforms have transformed interpersonal and professional communications into lightning-quick exchanges across time zones and cultural borders. However, the growing dependence on instant messaging, email, and virtual collaborative tools has provided an opportunity for a less investigated but far-reaching consequence: digital silence--the breakdown or lack of timely responses in virtual interactions. This paper examines the psychological, emotional, and relational implications of digital silence, with a focus on how it leads to communication apprehension, dissipation of trust, and the reconfiguration of human interactions in both personal and workplace spaces. Based on Uncertainty Reduction Theory, Expectancy Violation Theory, and Media Richness Theory, the current analysis utilizes a mixed-methods framework combining questionnaires and qualitative interviews with professionals and students from diverse cultural backgrounds. Results show that extended response times tend to precipitate adverse cognitive evaluations such as fear of rejection, misperception of rejection, and sense of disrespect--even in cross-cultural and hierarchical relationships. Cultural norms of conduct, digital etiquette assumptions, and message context play a significant role in the mediation of the perceived influence of silence. This paper concludes with the suggestion of practical methods and digital communication standards and protocols for mitigating misinterpretation, improving clarity, as well as incorporating healthier loops of communication in digitally mediated interactions. These findings have rich implications for the management of teleworking teams, intercultural communication training, as well as digital well-being.