Digital age triggers: the role of social media evaluation in music performance anxiety

This study investigates the mechanisms underlying music performance anxiety (MPA) under conditions of digital visibility, focusing on how digital performance exposure and online evaluation anxiety jointly influence MPA, and how perfectionism and self-compassion moderate these processes. Grounded in social comparison and self-regulation frameworks, structural equation modeling was employed to test the hypothesized pathways among these variables. Results show that digital exposure significantly heightens online evaluation anxiety, which in turn predicts greater MPA, demonstrating a significant mediating pathway. Perfectionism strengthens the association between digital exposure and evaluation anxiety, whereas self-compassion buffers the link between evaluation anxiety and MPA. Multi-group analyses indicate that these structural relations vary by gender and professional identity: female and professional performers report higher sensitivity to evaluative feedback and stronger anxiety responses. These findings suggest that digital visibility broadens the social arena of musical performance while influencing performers' emotional dynamics. Promoting self-compassion and resilience may support emotional balance and adaptive functioning in increasingly evaluative digital environments.