How Does Perceived Overload in Mobile Social Media Influence Users’ Passive Usage Intentions? Considering the Mediating Roles of Privacy Concerns and Social Media Fatigue

Abstract

ABSTRACT Social media is becoming an important instrument for interpersonal communication. However, more and more users attempt to use social media passively and have negative emotional responses. The critical question arising is what causes people to use social media passively. Furthermore, the roles of social media fatigue and privacy concerns between the perceived overload and passive usage intentions have not yet been investigated in depth. The study aims to explore how perceived overload affects the passive usage intentions of social media users. The conceptual model incorporated “perceived overload,” “social media fatigue,” “privacy concerns,” and “passive usage intentions” into a cognition-affect-conation framework to reflect the influencing process. This study collected data from 335 users on mainstream social media platforms and analyzed it using the partial least square-structural equation model (PLS-SEM). The results show that perceived overload positively affects the passive usage intentions of mobile social media users. Particularly, it is found that privacy concerns and social media fatigue mediate the relationship between perceive overload and passive usage intentions. The mediating effect of social media fatigue is significantly stronger than privacy concerns. This study enriches the research of information system use. It also provides theoretical and practical implications for social media scholars and practitioners.