Exhaustion and dependency: a habituation–sensitization perspective on the duality of habit in social media use

Abstract

PurposeThe current work builds on the dual process theory of habituation and sensitization to empirically investigate theory-based mechanisms through which social media use habit influences continued social media use intentions in the context of problematic social media use (SMU).Design/methodology/approachWe build on the dual process theory of habituation and sensitization and test our model with structural equation modeling technique applied to survey-based data collected from 337 social media users.FindingsFindings suggest that SMU Habit may increase user's perceived Habituation and directly reduce user's experienced SMU related Exhaustion. Furthermore, Habituation and SMU related Exhaustion are negatively associated in a nonlinear fashion. Also, SMU Habit may promote higher level of SMU Dependency through Sensitization. Increased level of SMU Dependency is associated with increased level of SMU related Exhaustion. Thus, SMU Habit simultaneously shapes two opposing forces driving continued use decisions.Practical implicationsThe current work can serve as a basis for developing effective interventions especially given the increase in problematic uses of IS fostered by the development of technology use habits.Originality/valueAlthough separate strands of research independently examined the role of “pull” forces such as SMU dependency and the role of “push” forces such as SMU related Exhaustion in influencing users' inclination toward future SMU, a unified theoretical framework considering the triad of SMU Habit, “pull” and “push” forces together is yet to be offered. Deploying Habituation–Sensitization theory will shed new light on dual mechanisms through which habit drives continued use decisions in SMU context. Thus, the current work can serve as a basis for developing effective interventions given the increase in problematic uses of IS.

Social Media Use May Not Be As Bad As Some Suggest: Implication for Older Adults

“…Although we did not find consistent causal associations between SMU and depressive symptoms, we found depressive symptoms and SMU reinforced themselves over time ( Slater, 2007 ). This result aligns with the literature depicting SMU as a habit ( Hu et al, 2018 ; Soror et al, 2021 ) because SMU in a particular wave is the best predictor of subsequent SMU. We found similar habit-wise patterns relating to depressive symptoms.…”

Exploring the effects of social capital on the compulsive use of online social networks in civil unrest contexts

“…A study from the Pew Research Center (2019) reports that nearly 80% of Facebook users in the United States use the SNS on a daily basis. This frequency of use suggests that the SNS usage can be considered a habit for most SNS users, i.e., the SNS usage behaviour becomes automatic over time (Soror et al, 2022). Furthermore, previous studies found that the relationship between habit and usage behaviour is actually strong (β > 0.5) (Hu et al, 2018).…”

Excessive use of personal social media at work: antecedents and outcomes from dual-system and person-environment fit perspectives

“…Excessive social media use can create an imbalance between the demands of the environment and the processing abilities of individuals, thereby resulting in technostress, which in turn can influence individuals' psychological and behavioral responses (Yu et al, 2018;Cao and Yu, 2019;Soror et al, 2022). In the work context of this study, we employ strain and job performance, which are the two of the most widely used psychological and behavioral responses to technostress in the organizational environment, as the outcome variables of excessive personal social media use at work.…”

“…Excessive social media use can create an imbalance between the demands of the environment and the processing abilities of individuals, thereby resulting in technostress, which in turn can influence individuals' psychological and behavioral responses (Yu et al. , 2018; Cao and Yu, 2019; Soror et al. , 2022).…”