Perceptions Of Information Overload Research Articles

One Year Later, Why Are People Still Avoiding COVID-19 News?: Understanding Predictors of News Avoidance in Indonesia

The global effect of COVID-19 pandemic has continued for almost two consecutive years. Indonesia is also among the countries most impacted by the SARS-CoV2 virus under this period. Consequently, certain challenges tend to occur as regards public interest in accessing or deterring recent information associated with the disease. While there are increasing interests among media and communication scholars in understanding why people are avoiding news, little attention has been given to this audience behaviour during a global crisis like coronavirus outbreak. Using news avoidance as the main concept, this research is aimed at examining the critical factors that influence news avoidance in low-choice media environments, particularly in the Global South like Indonesia. Employing a face-to-face survey with 1,000 participants in Banten Province, Indonesia, this study found that younger people with lesser interest in COVID-19 related issues appear more prone to avoid this news, in addition to their level of news overload. Nevertheless, we also found that gender and the level of education factors did not influence whether people distanced themselves with negative coverage of coronavirus news in the country during the first year of the pandemic. Furthermore, the perception of information overload and minimal trust in news sources greatly contributed to the avoidance situation. Keywords: Audience, COVID-19, news avoidance, news trust, news consumption.

The Role of Information Overload on Consumers’ Online Shopping Behavior

In today's market, there exists a variety of products and brands for creating various items based on the needs and demands of customers. As technology advances, more companies are emerging, and it is evident that multiple businesses have developed products that are comparable to one another. To expose the products to the market and attract customers, each of these businesses adopts unique description techniques. This sometimes results in information overload. The study sought to investigate the role of information overload on consumers’ online shopping behavior. Based on reviews of relevant theories and principles of the consumer decision-making process, questionnaires were used to gather data from 201 respondents. The findings revealed that as a textual description of product attributes increases, so do the perceptions of information overload, and customers become overwhelmed while trying to process the information. The findings indicated that information overload significantly causes consumers to experience stress, frustration, and perceived risk. Following the study findings, it recommended that managers realize that excessive information can potentially decrease consumers' ability to analyze attributes of products and to compare alternatives; hence, they should analyze the scope to which the amount of provided information can be processed by their target consumers without difficulty.

Adaption of the Cancer Information Overload Scale for pandemics and assessment of infodemic levels among nurses and midwives.

This study was conducted in three phases. Phase 1 aimed to adapt the Cancer Information Overload Scale and conduct content validity testing. Phase 2 aimed to conduct factorial validity testing of the scale. Phase 3 aimed to assess information overload and the sources of information used by nurses and midwives to keep up-to-date about COVID-19. A cross-sectional survey of nurses and midwives working in a metropolitan Local Health District in Sydney, Australia, was conducted from May to June 2020. Adaptation of the Cancer Information Overload Scale and content validity of the modified scale (as the Pandemic Information Overload Scale) was undertaken by an expert panel comprising of senior nurses and researchers. Factorial validity and reliability of the Pandemic Information Overload Scale were evaluated using exploratory factor analyses using one subsample of the data. Using the second subsample of the data, information overload and sources of information used by nurses and midwives to keep up-to-date about COVID-19 were examined. The Pandemic Information Overload Scale is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring information overload among nurses during a pandemic. Its internal consistency was high (α = 0.81, M = 3.84). The 8-item PIO scale is a brief, reliable and psychometrically sound instrument for measuring nurses' and midwives' perceptions of information overload during COVID-19. Mean scores across this study indicated that participants were experiencing above average information overload. Implementing strategies to reduce this overload would optimize clinical decision making and promote patient safety.

How can leaders alleviate employees' workplace anxiety caused by information overload on enterprise social media? Evidence from Chinese employees

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between information overload and employees' workplace anxiety in the context of enterprise social media (ESM).Design/methodology/approachThis study built a theoretical model to analyze the relationships among employees' perceptions of information overload on ESM, supervisor-subordinate instrumental and expressive ties on ESM and workplace anxiety. PLS-SEM was used to test the model through 219 questionnaires collected online.FindingsThe results revealed that information overload on ESM plays a positive role in employees' workplace anxiety. Supervisor-subordinate instrumental ties based on ESM can weaken the relationship between information overload and employees' workplace anxiety, but expressive ties can strengthen the positive relationship between information overload and workplace anxiety.Originality/valueLittle is known about whether information overload on ESM will affect employees' workplace anxiety and how leaders can mitigate this effect through ESM. Hence, this study developed a theoretical model and conducted an empirical study to open up a research opportunity to examine the relationships among information overload on ESM, supervisor-subordinate instrumental and expressive ties on ESM and employees' workplace anxiety. The study also has the potential to guide organizations in fine-tuning their social media usage strategies.

Fake news, information overload, and the third-person effect in China

Based on a national survey of 1111 Chinese citizens, this study analyzes how exposure to fake news and perceptions of information overload are associated with the third-person effect. The findings indicate that fake news exposure correlates with perceived information overload and third-person perceptions of fake news. Respondents with higher levels of perceived information overload also report stronger third-person perceptions. In addition, Chinese respondents who believe that fake news affects others more than themselves are less likely to support stricter controls of fake news.

Research on the Influence of User Perceived Overload on Information Avoidance Behavior from the Perspective of Human-Computer Interaction

With the development of network informatization, users can obtain a large amount of information in the process of human-computer interaction to provide a basis for self-determination. At the same time, the huge amount of information has also caused users to produce fatigue and negative usage behavior to a certain extent. The study collected 452 valid questionnaires through the questionnaire survey method, and the results showed that users’ perception of information overload and function overload positively affect information avoidance behavior from the perspective of human-computer interaction, while social overload has no significant impact on information avoidance behavior. The research conclusions help to further understand the impact of user perception overload on user information avoidance behavior, and provide enlightenment for information dissemination and function setting in human-computer interaction.

Information Overload, Wellbeing and COVID-19: A Survey in China.

(1) Psychology must play an important role in the prevention and management of the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the present study was to examine associations between the perceptions of information overload and wellbeing in China during the initial phase of COVID-19. (2) Methods: The present research involved a cross-sectional online survey, which controlled for established predictors of wellbeing and the perception of general (not COVID-19-specific) information overload. The setting of the research was China, February 2020. A total of 1349 participants completed an online survey, and the results from 1240 members of the general public who stated that they were uninfected are reported here (55.6% female; 49.4% single; age distribution: 17–25 years: 26%; 26–30 years: 24.3%; 31–40 years: 23.9%; 41–50 years: 16.2%; 51 years+: 9.6%; the most frequent occupations were: 21.5% students; 19.5% teachers; 25.9% office workers; 10.8% managers, plus a few in a wide range of jobs). The outcomes were positive wellbeing (positive affect and life satisfaction) and negative wellbeing (stress, negative affect, anxiety and depression). (3) Results: Regressions were carried out, controlling for established predictors of wellbeing (psychological capital, general information overload, positive and negative coping). Spending time getting information about COVID-19 was associated with more positive wellbeing. In contrast, perceptions of COVID-19 information overload and feeling panic due to COVID-19 were associated with more negative wellbeing. (4) Conclusions: These results have implications for the communication of information about COVID-19 to the general public and form the basis for further research on the topic.

Physician experiences of screen-level features in a prominent electronic health record: Design recommendations from a qualitative study.

The goal of this qualitative study was to assess physicians' perceptions around features of key screens within a prominent commercial EHR, and to solicit end-user recommendations for improved retrieval of high-priority clinical information. We conducted a qualitative, descriptive study of 25 physicians in a medical ICU setting. at a tertiary academic medical center. An in-depth, semi-structured interview guide was developed to elicit physician perceptions on information retrieval as well as favorable and unfavorable features of specific EHR screens. Transcripts were independently coded in a qualitative software management tool by at least two trained coders using a common code book. We successfully obtained vendor permission to map physicians perception's on full Epic© screenshots. Among the 25 physician participants (13 female; 5 attending physicians, 9 fellows, 11 residents), the majority of participants reported experiencing challenges finding clinical information in the EHR. We present the most favorable and unfavorable screen-level features for four central EHR screens: Flowsheet, Notes/Chart Review, Results Review, and Vital Signs. We also compiled participants' recommendations for a comprehensive EHR dashboard screen to better support clinical workflow and information retrieval in the medical ICU through User-Centered Design. ICU physicians demonstrated a mix of positive and negative attitudes toward specific screen-level features in a major vendor-based EHR system. Physician perceptions of information overload emerged as a theme across multiple EHR screens. Our findings underscore the importance of qualitative research and end-user feedback in EHR software design and interface optimization at both the vendor and institutional level.

Information cultures and strategies for coping with information overload: case of Estonian higher education institutions

PurposeThis paper focuses on the links between information culture and the perception of the information overload on the example of higher education institutions in Estonia. The aim of this study is to understand how different types of information culture affect coping with information overload.Design/methodology/approachTwo focus-group interviews with 14 participants and 17 semi-structured interviews with representatives of four HEIs were conducted. First, the questions on the values, norms and assumptions as well as information related practices were discussed to assess the dominant components of the information culture. Second, the perception of information overload was explored. Further, the strategies for coping with information overload were examined. Constant comparative analysis was used to analyse the interview data.FindingsThe results of the study suggest that the construct of information culture is valuable in understanding information environments and their relation to the perception of information overload. The participants representing the open information culture prefer informal information sharing and are more vulnerable to perceive information overload than the participants representing the integrated information culture. Organisational information management is the key to effective coping with information overload.Originality/valueThe current study sheds light on the perception of information overload in connection with information culture.

An Empirical Study on the Phenomenon of Information Narrowing in the Context of Personalized Recommendation

Personalized recommendation services have been widely applied to improve users’ search efficiency, but when filtering information for users, they also hide the risk of the declining in content diversity, which is information narrowing. In this study, comprehensive news and information platforms in China were taken as the empirical research object. The experimental tracking method was used to collecting the content data of client end recommended news. Simpson and Shannon-Wiener indexes were used to measure the information narrowing phenomenon. Questionnaires were used to collect users’ data of news and information applications usage, the perception of information overload, and the perception of information narrowing. The data of questionnaire was analyzed and processed by MATLAB and SPSS 20.0, and the hypothesizes were tested by statistical methods. The results reveal that there is indeed information narrowing phenomenon in news information personalized recommendation service, but most users are unaware of this.

An integrated model of the antecedents and consequences of perceived information overload using WeChat as an example

In recent years, more and more social media users have complained of information overload. In this paper, we obtained data from surveys of users of the multi-purpose Chinese social website, WeChat, to develop an integrated model of information overload. The model was used to determine the antecedents and consequences of WeChat users' perceived information overload. A field survey of 244 WeChat users was conducted to test the research model and hypotheses. The results showed the following key findings: 1) the amount of information received and the length of content increased users' perceptions of information overload, while the number of WeChat subscriptions followed was not a significant factor; 2) users' perceptions of information overload were associated with negative emotions and increased intention to discontinue usage; 3) the type and severity of negative emotions and consequent likelihood of discontinuing usage will vary according to the users' different levels of experience. The implications of our results for researchers, website managers and psychosocial practitioners are discussed.

“Too much to handle”: Impact of mobile social networking sites on information overload, depressive symptoms, and well-being

Mobile social networking sites (SNS) are frequently theorized to lead to perceived information overload, which may affect the well-being of individuals in negative ways. However, the available body of research is mainly based on cross-sectional data. Based on the limited capacity model of motivated mediated message processing (Lang, 2002), we tested the over-time relationships between mobile SNS use, information overload, depressive symptoms, and well-being in a two-wave panel study. Using a quota sample of adults (NT2 = 461), we found that YouTube use increased perceived information overload for all individuals. WhatsApp and Snapchat use did only lead to perceived information overload for older adults. Facebook as well as Instagram use were unrelated to perceived information overload. Furthermore, perceptions of information overload were a significant predictor of depressive symptoms, which in turn, negatively influenced individuals’ well-being over time. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Information overload, time pressure and organizational patterns as perceived by Israeli school staffs

ABSTRACT This article examines the connections between information overload and time pressure, as well as between organizational patterns as they are perceived by school faculty, contingent upon the level of the specific educational framework (elementary-high school) and teachers’ roles within the school. The participants were 539 teachers. The main questions examined were: (A) Is there a connection between information overload and time pressure on the one hand, and the perception of organizational patterns by the faculty on the other? (B) Do differences exist between different staff position-holders as far as their perceptions of information overload and time pressure? (C) Does the organizational pattern as it is perceived by different staff members mediate between information overload and time pressure on the one hand, and the educational framework in which they work on the other? In order to answer these questions, three close-ended questionnaires were administered. Results show that in schools perceived as bureaucratic hierarchical organizations, teachers experience a higher degree of information overload and time pressure than teachers who work in schools perceived by them as systemic organizations. In addition, the organizational pattern mediates the connections between teachers’ roles in the school and their sense of information overload and time pressure.

Follow the data: administering science at Edward Sabine's magnetic department, Woolwich, 1841–57

This paper considers the transmission of magnetic observations from overseas, colonial, observatories and the removal of these data from manuscripts to become the printed results of the so-called magnetic crusade, between 1841 and 1857. The processes adopted by Edward Sabine's magnetic department at Woolwich Arsenal to cope with the accumulation of very literal masses of data are considered, as well as the politicking that attended Sabine's attempts to have this department installed within the space occupied by, and the bureaucracy of, the Board of Ordnance. The magnetic crusade was one of the largest data-collecting enterprises of the nineteenth century, and a history of its data-management processes provides an important contribution to recent attempts to historicize discussions about Big Data and perceptions of information overload.

Antecedents of News Consumers' Perceived Information Overload and News Consumption Pattern in the USA

This exploratory study examines the critical factors associated with news consumers’ perception of information overload and news consumption patterns. An online survey was conducted with Qualtrics panels (N = 1001). The demographics and three antecedent factors of perceived information overload were considered including the frequency of news access through multiple media platforms, level of attention to news, and interest in news. Three news consumption patterns were investigated as possible consequences of perceived information overload: news avoidance, selective exposure, and willingness to pay for news. The results of hierarchical regression analyses revealed a meaningful distinction between general and news information overload. Overall, news consumers who paid more attention to news through newer media/platforms/devices perceived higher levels of information overload, were more willing to pay for the news, and often avoided news or selectively exposed themselves to certain sources of news to manage news information overload.

Information overload: The differences that age makes

Information overload has long been studied as a phenomenon that causes problems at the personal, social and organisational level. This study investigates overload from a new angle, that of the influence of age on perceptions of information overload. A combination of questionnaires, interviews and diaries were used to gain insight into people’s perceptions towards information overload. It was found that people of all ages suffer from information overload but young people are primarily affected by information literacy levels while older people are affected by technology. There was evidence of a link between age and technology use. A link was also found between job role and information overload and the impact technology has had on the quantity of information available. This research will benefit anyone, either individually or within an organisation, looking for ways to combat information overload. It identifies the influence of age on various factors and recommends actions that may be taken to reduce information overload. In particular, recommendations were made for further training in technology and information literacy. The paper is based on an approach not seen before in the literature as it investigates the effects of age on information overload by seeking to understand how perceptions towards information overload may differ between different age groups. It is anticipated that this paper will trigger further studies that could focus on the effect of job role on information overload and the likelihood of information addiction becoming a future concern.

The Effects of Information Overload on Consumer Confusion: An Examination on User Generated Content

The aim of this study is to determine the effects of information overload on consumer confusion in User-Generated Content (UGC) environments and to find whether consumers’ final buying decisions are affected by the confusion. In this respect, consumer data gathered online was analyzed by means of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) on the basis of the theoretical framework. In addition to model tests, a scale was developed to measure ‘information overload’ depending on UGC. The results revealed that depending on the quality of information created in UGC environments, consumers’ perceptions of information overload and consequently their confused reactions are related. The most important dimension of the information overload was found to be the information processing capacity. The level of involvement, the level of internet self-efficacy, and the perceived usefulness of UGC were also related to the degree of information overload. Statistically meaningful relationships were found between perceived information overload and confusion, and this confusion had a negative effect on consumers’ buying decisions, thus resulting in a decrease in purchasing.

Establishing a New Clinical Informationist Role in an Academic Health Sciences Center

The concept of clinical informationists is not new, but has recently been gaining more widespread acceptance across the United States. This article describes the lessons and challenges learned from starting a new clinical informationist service targeted to internal medicine residents in a large academic medical center. Lessons included the need for becoming immersed in evidence-based practice fundamentals; becoming comfortable with the pace, realities, and topics encountered during clinical rounds; and needing organizational commitment to both the evidence-based practice paradigm and clinical informationist role. Challenges included adapting to organizational culture, resident burnout, and perceptions of information overload.

SNS 구매후기는 누구의 마음을 움직이는가? : 소셜 네트워크 서비스를 활용한 마케팅 전략 연구

With the advent of SNS (Social Network Services), the product reviews by friends in SNS are intensively utilized for online marketing. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence on the actual marketing effect of SNS reviews, although we need to identify who can be the target of SNS marketing in terms of customer attributes, preferences, or experiences. In this study, we investigate the moderating role of customer attributes in identifying the effect of SNS reviews on customer purchasing decision. As the moderating variables, we adopt 'information search experience' and 'perception of information overload'. Research results evidence that, in order to understand the effect of SNS reviews in a comprehensive manner, we need to examine it in the context of various related factors such as 'information search experience' and 'perception of information overload'. The results show that the persuading effect of SNS reviews for product purchasing is stronger for the customers with the lower information search experiences as well as the lower perception on the information overload on the web. This result delivers managerial implications on who can be the target customers of SNS marketing.

Taming the Information Tide: Perceptions of Information Overload in the American Home

This study reports on new media adopters’ perceptions of and reactions to the shift from push broadcasting and headlines to the pull dynamics of online search. From a series of focus groups with adults from around the United States we find three dominant themes: (1) Most feel empowered and enthusiastic, not overloaded; (2) evolving forms of social networking represent a new manifestation of the two-step flow of communication; and (3) although critical of partisan “yellers” in the media, individuals do not report cocooning with the like-minded or avoiding the voices of those with whom they disagree. We also find that skills in using digital media matter when it comes to people's attitudes and uses of the new opportunities afforded by them.