The role of social connectedness in promoting mental-health is well-established. Thus, it is essential to understand the factors associated with social connectedness. Reseach indicates that social anxiety and social connectedness are closely associated. However, the mediating mechanisms linking social anxiety to social connectedness are not well-understood. The aim of the present research proposal is to investigate the mediating role of addiction, in particular digital game addiction, in the association between social anxiety and social connectedness. Participants (n=151) filled out demographic information form, Game Addiction Scale (GAS), Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS), and Social Connectedness Scale (SCS) online. Hayes PROCESS macro was used to test the hypothesized mediational model. It was hypothesized that social anxiety would be negatively associated with social connectedness and positively associated with digital game addiction, and that digital game addiction would mediate this relationship. Analyses provided empirical support for the proposed hypotheses. Specifically, higher levels of social anxiety were associated with increased tendency for digital game addiction, which, in turn, was negatively associated with social connectedness. These findings suggest a potential mediating role of digital game addiction in the relationship between social anxiety and social connectedness. The results are discussed within the framework of Lacanian psychoanalytic theory, which offers a distinctive perspective on the subject's relation to social interaction, lack, and addiction. This perspective suggests that digital game addiction can be viewed as a maladaptive defense mechanism that prevents engagement with anxiety-provoking social situations, thereby inhibiting symbolic integration. The study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of how addictive behaviors operate not merely at the behavioral level, but as psychic strategies that hinder one's capacity for meaningful social connections. Accordingly, the study offers theoretical and practical recommendations to strengthen social connectedness by addressing social anxiety and the use of digital games as an avoidance strategy.