Connection Cues: Activating the Norms and Habits of Social Connectedness

Staying connected has become a societal norm and a personal habit. The goal of this article is to explain how individuals internalizeand activatesocial connectedness during daily life. As such, we take a sociocognitive approach to integrate perspectives on implicit societal expectations (connection norms) and automatic individual behavior (connection habits). Based on this framework, we present a model for how nonconscious triggers to check a mobile device, or connection cues, affect the flow of communication. The model outlines types of connection cues, factors that moderate sensitivity to connection norms, and activation paths for connection habits. Altogether, connection cues determine when and where individuals connect through automatic perception.