Social media overload, exhaustion, and use discontinuance: Examining the effects of information overload, system feature overload, and social overload

Fu, Shaoxiong; Li, Hongxiu; Yong, Liu; Pirkkalainen, Henri; Salo, Markus

doi:10.1016/j.ipm.2020.102307

Cited by 231 publications

(254 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…Disseminating accurate information about what most people are doing is helpful and health-promoting; however, if the surrounding community is not health-promoting, providing purely descriptive normative information may backfire by reducing positive behaviors among people who already engage in them [ 40 ]. Furthermore, when it comes to health information dissemination, often less is better than giving too much, as deeper knowledge may sway different perceptions or lead to anxiety and panic [ 44 , 45 ]. Thus, a balanced approach in disseminating details about COVID-19 and possible implications is essential while keeping in mind that not all information would lead to positive outcomes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Citizens’ Adherence to COVID-19 Mitigation Recommendations by the Government: A 3-Country Comparative Evaluation Using Web-Based Cross-Sectional Survey Data

Al-Hasan¹,

Yim²,

Khuntia³

2020

J Med Internet Res

127

120

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Background Social distancing is an effective preventative policy for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that is enforced by governments worldwide. However, significant variations are observed in following the policy across individuals and countries. Arguably, differences in citizens’ adherence actions will be influenced by their perceptions about government’s plans and the information available to guide their behaviors—more so in the digital age in the realm of mass influence of social media on citizens. Insights into the underlying factors and dynamics involved with citizens’ adherence process will inform the policy makers to follow appropriate communication and messaging approaches to influence citizens’ willingness to adhere to the recommendations. Objective The aim of this study is a comparative evaluation of citizens’ adherence process to COVID-19–relevant recommendations by the government. The focus is on how three different countries’ (United States, Kuwait, and South Korea) citizens, randomly sampled, respond to governments’ pandemic guidance efforts. We draw insights into two categories of perceived government roles in managing the pandemic: (1) citizens’ perceptions of government’s role in responding to the pandemic and (2) citizens’ perceptions of government’s business reopening efforts. Undoubtedly, the internet and social media have burgeoned, with differing effects on shaping individuals’ views and assessments of the COVID-19 situation; we argue and test for the effects of information sources, social media use, and knowledge on the adherence actions. Methods We randomly sampled web-based survey data collected by a global firm in May 2020 from citizens of the United States, Kuwait, and South Korea. A nonlinear ordered probit regression, controlling for several counterfactuals, was used for analysis. The focal estimated effects of the study were compared across countries using the weighted distance between the parameter estimates. Results The total sample size was 482 respondents, of which 207 (43%) lived in the United States, 181 (38%) lived in Kuwait, and 94 (20%) lived in South Korea. The ordered probit estimation results suggest that overall, perception of government response efforts positively influenced self-adherence (P<.001) and others’ adherence (P<.001) to social distancing and sheltering. Perception of government business reopening efforts positively influenced others’ adherence (P<.001). A higher intensity of general health information source for COVID-19 had a positive effect on self-adherence (P=.003). A higher intensity of social media source use for COVID-19 positively influenced others’ adherence (P=.002). A higher intensity of knowledge on COVID-19 positively influenced self-adherence (P=.008) and negatively influenced others’ adherence (P<.001). There were country-level variations—broadly, the United States and Kuwait had better effects than South Korea. Conclusions As the COVID-19 global pandemic continues to grow and governmental restrictions are ongoing, it is critical to understand people’s frustration to reduce panic and promote social distancing to facilitate the control of the pandemic. This study finds that the government plays a central role in terms of adherence to restrictions. Governments need to enhance their efforts on publicizing information on the pandemic, as well as employ strategies for improved communication management to citizens through social media as well as mainstream information sources.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Citizens’ Adherence to COVID-19 Mitigation Recommendations by the Government: A 3-Country Comparative Evaluation Using Web-Based Cross-Sectional Survey Data

Al-Hasan¹,

Yim²,

Khuntia³

2020

J Med Internet Res

127

120

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“…For example, in a study of Facebook users, the stress of keeping up with the technology and feelings of tiredness and being drained from using it were associated with intentions to reduce future use or to deactivate one's account (Luqman et al., 2017). Discontinuance intentions for social media sites also are tied to feelings of regret and being overloaded by contacts or features on a site (e.g., Fu et al., 2020; Wang et al., 2020).…”

Section: Habits and Quitting: Habits Perpetuate Usementioning

confidence: 99%

Habits and the electronic herd: The psychology behind social media’s successes and failures

Anderson

Wood

2020

Consumer Psychology Review

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If platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are the engines of social media use, what is the gasoline? The answer can be found in the psychological dynamics behind consumer habit formation and performance. In fact, the financial success of different social media sites is closely tied to the daily‐use habits they create among users. We explain how the rewards of social media sites motivate user habit formation, how social media design provides cues that automatically activate habits and nudge continued use, and how strong habits hinder quitting social media. Demonstrating that use habits are tied to cues, we report a novel test of a 2008 change in Facebook design, showing that it impeded posting only of frequent, habitual users, suggesting that the change disrupted habit automaticity. Finally, we offer predictions about the future of social media sites, highlighting the features most likely to promote user habits.

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“…This situation occurs when handling and processing a wealth of information from multiple information sources become cumbersome, leading to information overload ( Beaudoin, 2008 ). This overload of information has been found to create stress, fatigue, exhaustion, and even discontinuation of the use of information sources in recent studies ( Fu, Li, Liu, Pirkkalainen & Salo, 2020 ; Guo, Lu, Kuang & Wang, 2020 ; Matthews, Karsay, Schmuck & Stevic, 2020 ). Students found information overload as a cause of psychological stress ( Eppler, 2015 ), negative emotions ( Zhang, Ma, Zhang & Wang, 2020 ), negative effects, depressive symptoms, trait anxiety, and trait anger ( Swar, Hameed & Reychav, 2017 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Information overload also found to have adverse implications for psychological well-being, such as stress, information anxiety, depressive symptoms, exhaustion, fatigue, and similar others ( Bawden & Robinson, 2009 ; Fu et al., 2020 ; Guo et al., 2020 ; Matthews et al., 2020 ; Swar et al., 2017 )), and adversely affect the well-being of the people ( Matthews et al., 2020 ). Further, information overload has been found related to the discontinuation of social media networks ( Fu et al., 2020 ) and information avoidance behavior ( Guo et al., 2020 ). Information overload can also reduce decision quality, impacting information behavior ( Speier, Valacich, & Vessey, 1999 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From information seeking to information avoidance: Understanding the health information behavior during a global health crisis

Soroya

Farooq

Mahmood

et al. 2021

Information Processing & Management

344

276

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Highlights The study examines the factors leading to information avoidance during COVID-19 pandemic. Mass Media, Print Media and official websites are used for information seeking during the pandemic. Only Social Media exposure results in information overload and information anxiety. Information overload is strongly associated with information anxiety which gives rise to information avoidance. We extend the applicability of S-O-R model to the information behavior domain, especially during the uncertain times.

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Social media overload, exhaustion, and use discontinuance: Examining the effects of information overload, system feature overload, and social overload

Cited by 231 publications

References 61 publications

Citizens’ Adherence to COVID-19 Mitigation Recommendations by the Government: A 3-Country Comparative Evaluation Using Web-Based Cross-Sectional Survey Data

Citizens’ Adherence to COVID-19 Mitigation Recommendations by the Government: A 3-Country Comparative Evaluation Using Web-Based Cross-Sectional Survey Data

Habits and the electronic herd: The psychology behind social media’s successes and failures

From information seeking to information avoidance: Understanding the health information behavior during a global health crisis

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