Recent theorizing argues that online communication technologies provide powerful, although precarious, means of emotional regulation. We develop this understanding further. Drawing on subjective reports collected during periods of imposed social restrictions under COVID-19, we focus on how this precarity is a source of emotional dysregulation. We make our case by organizing responses into five distinct but intersecting dimensions wherein the precarity of this regulation is most relevant: infrastructure, functional use, mindful design (individual and social), and digital tact. Analyzing these reports, along with examples of mediating technologies (i.e., self-view) and common interactive dynamics (e.g., gaze coordination), we tease out how breakdowns along these dimensions are sources of affective dysregulation. We argue that the adequacy of available technological resources and competencies of various kinds matter greatly to the types of emotional experiences one is likely to have online. Further research into online communication technologies as modulators of both our individual and collective well-being is urgently needed, especially as the echoes of the digital push that COVID-19 initiated are set to continue reverberating into the future.

最近的理论认为，在线通信技术提供了强大但不稳定的情绪调节手段。我们进一步发展这种理解。根据 COVID-19 实施社会限制期间收集的主观报告，我们重点关注这种不稳定因素如何成为情绪失调的根源。我们通过将回应分为五个不同但交叉的维度来阐述我们的观点，其中与该法规的不稳定性最为相关：基础设施、功能使用、谨慎设计（个人和社会）和数字策略。通过分析这些报告，以及中介技术（即自我观点）和常见的互动动态（例如目光协调）的例子，我们梳理出了这些维度的崩溃如何成为情感失调的根源。我们认为，可用技术资源和各种能力的充足性对于人们可能在网上获得的情感体验类型非常重要。迫切需要对在线通信技术作为我们个人和集体福祉的调节器进行进一步研究，特别是考虑到 COVID-19 发起的数字化推动的回响将在未来继续产生影响。