Social Media Never Sleeps: Antecedents and Consequences of Social Media Fatigue Among Content Creators
Keywords:
Social media fatigue, Content creators, Digital strategy, Stressor-strain-outcome framework, Brand strategy and managementAbstract
Social media use among private, nonprofit, and public sector organizations is on the rise with budgets for communicating in this space growing annually. Social media content creators use their professional skills in public relations, advertising, and marketing to grow consumer demand and maintain relationships. Although social media content creators serve as important connectors for organizations and stakeholders, the evidence is mounting that content creators are experiencing social media fatigue. While general social media users can withdraw from social media when feeling overwhelmed, what happens to those who work daily in the social media environment and rely on these platforms for their livelihood? To examine this important issue, we conducted focus groups and in-depth interviews with social media content creators in the private and public sectors. Our findings outline the antecedents and consequences of social media fatigue among content creators. We also discuss practical implications and offer suggestions to improve the work experience of these strategic communicators.
References
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Bawden, D., & Robinson, L. (2009). The dark side of information: Overload, anxiety and other paradoxes and pathologies. Journal of Information Science, 35(2), 180-91.
Boehm, N. (2019). Stuck on social media: Predicting young adults’ intentions to limit social media use, The Journal of Social Media in Society, 8(2), 143-166.
Bolsani, E., Enrico, S., & Padova, A. (2018). Cognitive overload in organizational knowledge management: Case study research. Knowledge and Process Management, 23, 223-231.
Boyce, C., & Neale, P. (2006). Conducting in-depth interviews: A guide for designing and conducting in-depth interviews for evaluation input. Watertown, MA: Pathfinder International.
Bright, L. F., Kleiser, S. B., & Grau, S. L. (2015). Too much Facebook? An exploratory examination of social media fatigue, Computers in Human Behavior, 44, 148-155.
Bright, L. F., & Logan, K. (2018). Is my fear of missing out (FOMO) causing fatigue?
Advertising, social media fatigue, and the implications for consumers and brands.
Internet Research, 28(5), 1213-1227.
Cao, X., Masood, A., Luqman, A., & Ahmed, A. (2018). Excessive use of mobile social networking sites and poor academic performance: Antecedents and consequences from stressor-strain-outcome perspective. Computers in Human Behavior, 85, 163-174.
Cooper, D. R., & Schindler, P. S. (2006), Business research methods, 9th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Davis, R. E., Dolan, G., Thomas, S., Atwell, C., Mead, D., Nehammer, S., Moseley, L., Edwards, A., & Elwyn, G. (2003). Exploring doctor and patient views about risk communication and shared decision-making in the consultation. Health Expectations, 6(3), 198-207.
Dwoskin, E., Whalen, J., & Cabato, R. (2019, July 25). Content moderators at YouTube, Facebook and Twitter see the worst of the web - and suffer silently. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/07/25/social-media-companies-are-outsourcing-their-dirty-work-philippines-generation-workers-is-paying-price/
eMarketer Editors. (2018). Social media will hit major milestones in 2018. Retrieved from https://www.emarketer.com/content/social-media-will-hit-major-milestones-in-both-ad-revenues-and-usage-in-2018.
Glaser, B., & Strauss, A.L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research, Chicago, IL: Aldine.
Herrera-Damas, S. (2014). Recurring topics in the social media policies of mainstream media. Journal of Applied Journalism & Media Studies, 3(2), 155-73.
Kelly, L., Kerr, G., & Drennan, J. (2010). Avoidance of advertising in social networking sites: The teenage perspective. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 10(2), 16-27.
Kitzinger, J. (1995). Qualitative research: Introducing focus groups. BMJ, 311(7000), 299-302.
Koeske, G. F., & Koeske, R. D. (1993). A preliminary test of a stress-strain-outcome model for reconceptualizing the burnout phenomenon. Journal of Social Service Research, 17(3-4), 107-135.
Kowalski, R. M., Limber, S. P., & Agatston, P. W. (2012), Cyberbullying: Bullying in the digital age (2nd ed.): Wiley-Blackwell.
Kuss, D. J., & Griffiths, M. D. (2011). Online social networking and addiction: A review of the psychological literature. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 8(9), 3528-3552.
Lambiase, J., & Bright, L. F. (2016). Boosters, idealized citizens, and cranks: City communicators share and moderate information in social media, but real engagement is messy and time-consuming. In A.L. Hutchins & N. Tindall (Eds.), Public Relations and Participatory Culture: Fandom, Social Media, and Community Engagement. New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Lang, A. (2000). The limited capacity model of mediated message processing. Journal of Communication, 51(1), 46-70.
Lee, A. R. Son, S.M., & Kim, K. K. (2016). Information and communication technology overload and social networking service fatigue: A stress perspective. Computers in Human Behavior, 55(A), 51-61.
McLaughlin, C., & Vitak, J. (2012). Norm evolution and violation on Facebook. New Media & Society, 14(2), 299-315.
Mortensen, D. (2016, August 25) U.S. digital media ad revenue report: The path to $100 billion in annual revenue by 2021, Business Insider, Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/the-us-digital-media-ad-revenue-report-the-path-to-100-billion-in-annual-revenue-by-2021-2016-8.
O’Keeffe, G. S., Clarke-Pearson, K., & Council on Communications and Media. (2011). The impact of social media on children, adolescents, and families. Pediatrics, 127(4), 800-804.
Rainie, L., & Zickuhr, K. (2015). Chapter 1: Always on connectivity, Americans’ Views on Mobile Etiquette, Washington, DC: Pew Research Center, https://www.pewinternet.org/2015/08/26/chapter-1-always-on-connectivity/.
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Tandoc, E., Ferrucci, P., & Duffy, M. (2015). Facebook use, envy, and depression among college students: Is Facebook depressing? Computers in Human Behavior, 43, 139-146.
Tarafdar, M., Tu, Q., Ragu-Nathan, B.S., & Ragu-Nathan, T.S. (2007). The impact of technostress on role stress and productivity. Journal of Management Information Systems, 24(1), 301-328.
Technopedia (2011), Social media fatigue. Retrieved from https://www.techopedia.com/definition/27372/social-media-fatigue
van Zoonen, W., & Rice, R. E. (2017). Paradoxical implications of personal social media use for work. New Technology, Work & Employment, 32 (3), 228-46.
Wearesocial.com. (2019). Digital 2019: Global internet use accelerates. Retrieved from https://wearesocial.com/blog/2019/01/digital-2019-global-internet-use-accelerates
Woods, H. C., & Scott, H. (2016). #Sleppyteens: Social media use in adolescence is associated with poor sleep quality, anxiety, depression and low self-esteem. Journal of Adolescence, 51(August), 41-49.
Wurman, R. S. (2001). Information Anxiety 2. Indianapolis, Indiana: Que.
Yu, L., Cao, X., Liu, Z., & Wang, J. (2018). Excessive social media use at work: Exploring the effects of social media overload on job performance. Information Technology & People, 31(6), 1091-1112.
Zhang, S., Zhao, L., Lu, Y., & Yang, J. (2016). Do you get tired of socializing? An empirical explanation of discontinuous usage behavior in social network services. Information & Management, 53(7), 904-914.
Zheng, X., & Lee, M. K. O. (2016). Excessive use of mobile social networking sites: Negative consequences on individuals. Computers in Human Behavior, 65(December), 65-76.
Zikmund, W. G. (2003), Business Research Methods, 7th ed., Mason, OH: Thomson South-Western.
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2020-12-18
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