Abstract

This study aims to understand how online identity interruption can impact psychological distress and how psychological distress drives avoidance intention in using online social networks. Results of the experiment indicate that the effect of content dispersion on feelings of betrayal is amplified when network similarity is low but the effect is nullified when network similarity is high. More interestingly, results reveal that the interaction between content dispersion and network similarity on feelings of betrayal is moderated by social readership. Responses from the participants also reveal that higher feelings of betrayal lead to higher avoidance intention. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

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