How Perceived Pressure Affects Users’ Social Media Fatigue Behavior: A Case on WeChat

"Left on read" examining social media users' lurking behavior: an integration of anxiety and social media fatigue

Introduction

With the widespread use of social media, the behavior and mindset of users have been transformed, leading to a gradual increase in lurking users, which can impede the sustainable development of social media platforms. In this study, we aim to investigate the impact of intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors on social media users' anxiety, social media fatigue, and lurking behavior.

Methodology

For the confirmation of these phenomena and to validate the theories, a structural equation model was constructed based on the SSO (Stressor-Strain-Outcome) theoretical framework. The model was then tested and validated with data from 836 valid online surveys. These data were analyzed using SPSS 27.0 and AMOS 24.0 software.

Results

The results indicate that intrinsic motivations (such as social comparison and privacy concerns) and extrinsic motivations (including information overload, functional overload, and social overload) are positively associated with users' lurking behavior through the mediating effects of social media fatigue and anxiety. Additionally, for the mediator variables, social media fatigue was found to be positively associated with anxiety.

Discussion

These findings underscore the importance of social media platforms considering both intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors to mitigate user anxiety and social media fatigue. By addressing these factors, platforms can foster user satisfaction and increase engagement, ultimately contributing to the sustainable development of social media platforms.

How information and communication overload affect consumers' platform switching behavior in social commerce

In social commerce, users are increasingly resorting to social media platforms to search for information, purchase goods, and share shopping experiences. However, social media use may also affect users' emotions negatively, causing them to switch platforms. Therefore, this study aims to investigate how negative factors (i.e., information and communication overload) affect consumers' platform-switching behavior in social commerce. Drawing on the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) model, this study established a research framework and conducted an online survey in China. A purposive sampling technique was used to collect the data, generating 477 valid responses. Data analysis, based on structural equation modeling, indicates that information and communication overload, and online fatigue positively affect platform-switching intention. The effect of the intention to switch on behavior is moderated by switching costs. Mediation analysis shows that information and communication overload can indirectly influence switching behavior through online fatigue and switching intention. This study incorporates the novel aspects of switching costs in examining the driving forces behind platform-switching in social commerce, thereby theoretically adding value to the existing body of knowledge. Apart from this, our findings also bear significant practical implications and are valuable for social commerce platforms and sellers to improve their user experience and retain existing customers.

Problematic Smartphone Use and Social Media Fatigue: The Mediating Role of Self-Control

Background

Excessive social media consumption leads to addiction and affects mental health. It is a phenomenon that is difficult to avoid. Previous research on the effects of excessive Internet use shows that people who engage in social media (SM) without restraint experience over-involvement, over-disclosure, technostress, and social media fatigue (SMF). SMF, conceptualized as an emotional and cognitive feeling of being overwhelmed, manifests itself in mindless browsing of content, limiting the amount of time spent on SM, or quitting SM altogether. Self-control, although present in the technology addiction literature and psychology research, has been rarely described in relation to both excessive SM use and SMF. Therefore, the main goal of the present study was to verify whether there is a direct relationship between problematic smartphone use and SMF, and whether this association is mediated by self-control.

Methods

The study included 210 respondents (M = 25.85, SD = 9.84) living in different Polish cities. The survey was conducted online, and the respondents consented to participate in the study. They completed the following measures: the Mobile Phone Problematic Use, the Self-Control Scale, the Social Media Fatigue Scale, and a brief questionnaire with socio-demographic data.

Results

Statistical analysis was performed to verify the relationship between problematic mobile phone use, level of self-control, and SMF. The outcomes indicate that there are significant interrelationships between the three studied variables. The association between problematic smartphone use and SMF is mediated by self-control.

Conclusion

A lack of impulse-inhibition skills, such as compulsive checking of notifications, can be a significant factor in SM exhaustion, fatigue, or frustration. SMF can also be understood as a natural defensive response, triggered in situations where individuals are overwhelmed, when the self-control is insufficient to stop the compulsion to use SM, and the use of a smartphone for this purpose is excessively engaging.

Research on the influence mechanism of privacy invasion experiences with privacy protection intentions in social media contexts: Regulatory focus as the moderator

Introduction

In recent years, there have been numerous online privacy violation incidents caused by the leakage of personal information of social media users, yet there seems to be a tendency for users to burn out when it comes to privacy protection, which leads to more privacy invasions and forms a vicious circle. Few studies have examined the impact of social media users' privacy invasion experiences on their privacy protection intention. Protection motivation theory has often been applied to privacy protection research. However, it has been suggested that the theory could be improved by introducing individual emotional factors, and empirical research in this area is lacking.

Methods

To fill these gaps, the current study constructs a moderated chain mediation model based on protection motivation theory and regulatory focus theory, and introduces privacy fatigue as an emotional variable.

Results and discussion

An analysis of a sample of 4800 from China finds that: (1) Social media users' previous privacy invasion experiences can increase their privacy protection intention. This process is mediated by response costs and privacy fatigue. (2) Privacy fatigue plays a masking effect, i.e., increased privacy invasion experiences and response costs will raise individuals' privacy fatigue, and the feeling of privacy fatigue significantly reduces individuals' willingness to protect their privacy. (3) Promotion-focus individuals are less likely to experience privacy fatigue than those with prevention-focus. In summary, this trend of "lie flat" on social media users' privacy protection is caused by the key factor of "privacy fatigue", and the psychological trait of regulatory focus can be used to interfere with the development of privacy fatigue. This study extends the scope of research on privacy protection and regulatory focus theory, refines the theory of protection motivation, and expands the empirical study of privacy fatigue; the findings also inform the practical governance of social network privacy.

Is the Global Pandemic Driving Me Crazy? The Relationship Between Personality Traits, Fear of Missing Out, and Social Media Fatigue During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Nigeria

Individ    uals' psychological behaviors and fear of missing out are affected by the global pandemic. This study investigates how individual "Big Five" personality traits influence fear of missing out leading to social media fatigue, the impact of social media fatigue on social media fatigue behavior during the COVID-19 lockdown. As a result, this study proposes and develops a model using the structural equation modelling for data obtained from young adults in the South-Western region of Nigeria. Results show the impact of openness, conscientiousness, and extraversion emotional instability was positively significant towards fear of missing out over the use of social media during COVID-19, whereas the effect of agreeableness and emotional stability were insignificant towards fear of missing out over the use of social media during COVID-19. In addition, the impact of the fear of missing out on social media fatigue influences social media fatigue behavior. Theoretical and managerial implications for "Big Five" personality traits, fear of missing out, social media fatigue, and social media behaviors are provided.

Emergency Response and Risk Communication Effects of Local Media during COVID-19 Pandemic in China: A Study Based on a Social Media Network

As the country where the COVID-19 was first reported and initially broke out, China has controlled the spread of the pandemic well. The pandemic prevention process included emergency response and risk communication, both of which could notably increase public participation, people's anxiety has been alleviated, their confidence in the government has been enhanced, and the implementation of prevention and control measures has been understood. This study selected 157,283 articles published by 447 accounts across 326 cities in February 2020 from WeChat, the largest social media application in China, to systematically compare the spatial distributions in the effectiveness of emergency responses and risk communication. The results showed that there were significant regional differences in the effectiveness of emergency response and risk communication during the pandemic period in China. The effectiveness of emergency response and risk communication are related to the exposure risk to the COVID-19, the level of economy, culture, and education of the region, the type of accounts and articles, and the ranking of the articles in posts. The timeliness and distribution types of articles should take into account the psychological changes in communication recipients to avoid the dissemination of homogenized information to the masses and the resulting information receiving fatigue period.

Trait Anxiety and Social Media Fatigue: Fear of Missing Out as a Mediator

Background

Interdisciplinary literature indicates different correlates of social media fatigue (hereinafter: SMF). Some studies show that high levels of anxiety may induce lowered Internet use and lead social media users to withdraw from Internet activities. Since the relationship between anxiety and social media use is complex, it is important to investigate mediating factors that may indirectly contribute to or exacerbate this association. Therefore, the main aim of this study is to verify whether fear of missing out (hereinafter: FoMO) is a potential factor accounting for why anxiety is associated with SMF.

Participants Methods and Data Collection

The research was conducted on a group of 264 adolescents and adults (85% women). The mean age of the respondents was M = 23.76 with SD = 5.98 (range = 14-50 years). The data were collected via online social networking among college students, their family members and friends. The participants answered the Trait Anxiety Scale (TAS), Social Media Fatigue Scale (SMFS), Fear of Missing Out Scale (FoMO), and  Revised Life Orientation Test (LOT-R).

Results

The outcomes showed that respondents with higher levels of trait anxiety report more intense cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and overall online fatigue. Concurrently, individuals who experience  FoMO on the Internet declare being tired of social media use. Moreover, FoMO mediates the association between trait anxiety and all three dimensions of SMF, and its overall result.

Conclusion

The present research increases our understanding of the possible role of apprehension related to missing out on the anxiety and fatigue connected to engagement in social media. It is possible to assess that trait anxiety might induce higher SMF when individuals experience a general apprehension that others are doing or having things that they do not.

A Preliminary Validation of the Polish Version of the Social Media Fatigue Scale

Background

As social media fatigue is a newly described phenomenon, we do not possess many tools to measure this concept. The main aim of the study was to establish a latent structure of the Social Media Fatigue Scale (SMFS) and to identify whether the Polish version is congruent with the Chinese version. The second aim was to examine whether the factor structure fits the data and yields a comparable goodness-of-fit index. The third aim was to consider the convergent validity of the SMFS and to verify whether tiredness and Internet addiction correlate positively.

Methods

The research was conducted on a group of 331 (1st Study) and 379 (2nd Study) adolescents and young adults. It was performed using the SMFS and Internet Addiction Test (IAT).

Results

The outcomes suggest that the three-factor structure is the optimal and reliable solution that corresponds to the original SMFS. CFA provided a good fit. All the dimensions of the SMFS correlated positively with Internet addiction.

Conclusion

The Polish version of the SMFS presented satisfactory psychometric properties, showing many similarities with the original Chinese version of the SMFS. The findings confirm that excessive use of social media may lead to discomfort and negative emotions related to feeling overwhelmed by information, social interaction overload, and personal/others' expectations.