Impulse and Control: Exploring Mechanisms of Social Media Addiction from the Media System Dependency Perspective

Authors

Qinwei Li, Wuhan UniversityFollow
Yiwen Zhang, Wuhan UniversityFollow
Yongqiang Sun, Wuhan UniversityFollow

Paper Number

1410

Abstract

Rather than focusing on the psychological characteristics of individuals as previous studies have done, this study adds to the social media addiction literature by exploring the mechanisms by which media characteristics affect addiction from the media system dependency perspective. Specifically, we classify media dependence into three dimensions, interpersonal electronic surveillance, positive self-presentation, and interpersonal sensitivity based on the characteristics of social media systems. Results of an online survey of 231 users of WeChat or QQ suggest that three dimensions of media system dependency have positive effects on social media addiction through cognitive-emotional preoccupation with using social media and cognitive-behavioral control over using social media. This study contributes to the study of the dark side of information system use and offers practical implications to information technology artifact designers and users.

Comments

Paper Number 1410

Recommended Citation

Li, Qinwei; Zhang, Yiwen; and Sun, Yongqiang, "Impulse and Control: Exploring Mechanisms of Social Media Addiction from the Media System Dependency Perspective" (2022). PACIS 2022 Proceedings. 6.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/pacis2022/6