Silenced emotions in the digital age: a qualitative study of emotional suppression among young people aged 15–28 years in Erbil, Iraq

Abstract Background and Aim Emotional suppression among young people is a growing psychosocial concern, particularly among those who are heavily engaged with digital communication and who are also navigating complex cultural and familial expectations. This study aimed to explore how young people aged 15–28 years in Erbil, Iraq, describe their experience of emotional suppression, and the personal, social, cultural, and digital factors they described as shaping emotional expression in everyday life. Method A qualitative descriptive study was conducted in Erbil Governorate, Iraq, between July and September 2025 using maximum variation purposive sampling. Semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were conducted with twenty young people aged 15–28 years, selected for diversity in gender, age band, residence, educational status, digital engagement, and self-rated family support. All twenty were invited from a single sampling frame: respondents to an earlier anonymous survey who had given written agreement to be re-contacted. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using inductive content analysis, following Graneheim and colleagues, within a literature-informed interview framework, supported by MAXQDA software. The study is reported in line with the COREQ checklist (Supplementary File 2). Results The analysis generated three categories and nine subcategories: (1) personal and internal category (internalized stoicism, guilt and fear of becoming an emotional burden, and difficulty recognising and articulating emotions); (2) social and cultural category (norms equating emotion with weakness, fear of emotional exploitation and interpersonal distrust, and gendered expectations and family pressure); and (3) digital and online category (fear of permanent digital exposure, self-censorship and deletion of emotional content, and pressure to perform happiness online). Conclusions Participants described emotional suppression as a layered experience shaped by personal beliefs, cultural norms, and aspects of digital communication that they perceived as affecting how safely they felt able to express emotion. The findings are specific to this group of participants in this setting and are not intended to indicate prevalence. Culturally adapted psychosocial and digital-literacy interventions designed with young people and delivered in community and educational settings may be worth exploring and evaluating.