Constantly Connected, Differently Affected: Response Speed Shapes Parents’ and Adolescents’ Feelings of Connection

Response speed in digital communication serves as a signal of availability, yet past research has overlooked how speed expectations in specific relationships translate into social connection. This study addresses this oversight by integrating theoretical perspectives on constant connectivity and chronemics to test the implications of perceived response speed for parent-adolescent relationships. Using a 28-day dyadic daily diary design of 142 parent-adolescent dyads, we examined how one’s own and one’s partner’s perceived response speed were associated with feelings of connection. Results revealed asymmetric and interdependent patterns. Faster response speed perceptions predicted greater connection, but these associations were more pronounced for parents. Additionally, parents’ perceptions of adolescents’ response speed predicted adolescents’ feelings of connection. These findings indicate that response speed perceptions can act as a mechanism that links connectivity to social connection in everyday life, but this depends on relational role.