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This study seeks to explore the impact of “fear of missing out” (FOMO) and “psychological enhancement” (PE) on addiction to social media applications, subsequently influencing users' life satisfaction and continuous usage intention.

This research involved the administration of two sets of questionnaires during distinct periods: December 15 to December 30, 2022 and August 26 to September 2, 2023. The participants were college students from three universities in China, and the data collection utilized the “Questionnaire Star” platform. Only responses deemed valid and consistent were included in the subsequent statistical analysis. A total of 1,108 valid samples were used for the final analysis. Analyses including reliability, validity, path analysis, structural equation modeling, mediation effects and moderation effects were conducted using SPSS and AMOS software.

The study revealed that both FOMO and PE exerted positive influences on users' addiction to social media applications. Furthermore, this addiction was found to have a negative effect on users' life satisfaction while simultaneously contributing positively to their intention to continue using these platforms. The mediating effect of social media application addiction and the moderating impact of self-regulation were also substantiated through the analysis.

Firstly, it is important to note that the research population of this study is limited to college students, which may limit its generalizability and representativeness. Although college students are a group known for their familiarity with and frequent use of smartphones and social media apps, the findings may not fully capture the behaviors of social media app users in other age groups. To enhance the understanding of social media app addiction across different age groups, future studies should consider expanding the research population and conducting multi-group difference analyses. Secondly, while focusing on specific users within a particular region can minimize unexplained variance in model estimation, it may also restrict the broader applicability of the study results. Therefore, future studies should consider testing the research model with diverse groups from different regions and cultural backgrounds. This approach will provide valuable insights into how social media app addiction may vary across various contexts, thereby enriching our understanding of this phenomenon.

Our findings reveal that in the “attention economy” environment shaped by addiction, social media app managers should leverage technology to swiftly and accurately target audiences, attract them to their platforms and cultivate long-term relationships. Encouraging users to develop new beneficial habits through app-specific functions and precise services will foster continuous usage and unlock revenue and marketing opportunities for app companies.

Despite the extensive scholarly discourse on social media application addiction, there is a lack of a well-defined framework delineating how addictive user behaviors can be leveraged in the marketing strategies of social media application platforms. The present study seeks to address these gaps, contributing to a better understanding of the formation mechanisms and knowledge systems related to social media application addiction. By investigating the causes and consequences of such addiction, this research offers valuable insights and recommendations for the innovative development of these apps, given their widespread popularity. Concurrently, the study establishes a theoretical basis for the concept that users can mitigate the negative effects of social media addiction by exercising their own self-regulation.

As the functionalities and features of social media apps converge, their individual uniqueness starts to diminish, intensifying the competition among social media companies. This escalating rivalry places higher demands on these companies. This study aims to aid social media app companies in comprehending and analyzing the diverse psychological needs of users. By enriching their platform features and services, leading users towards addiction and gaining an edge in the “Attention Economy” competition. Understanding and catering to users' needs will be instrumental in thriving within this dynamic and evolving attention economy landscape.

Compulsive social media use has the potential to reduce well-being. In this study, the authors propose that there are two main paths to compulsive social media consumption. One is behavioral and based on habit; the other is motivational and rooted in the fear of missing out. This study aims to test the antecedents of these two drivers as well as their consequences for the tendency to engage in compulsive social media consumption.

The authors applied a quantitative research design and collected data through a survey of 600 respondents from a representative sample. The authors used structural equation modeling to test their conceptual model and hypotheses. Gender and age were included as moderators to investigate the model’s boundary conditions.

The authors found support for all the suggested relationships in the conceptual model. The findings indicate two main manifestations of compulsive social media use – always being logged in (i.e. the frequency of social media consumption) and excessive use (the intensity of consumption) – that in turn spurred a reinforcer of compulsivity: disconnection anxiety. The findings also indicate two main paths to compulsive social media consumption. One path is behavioral, based on habit, and the other is motivational, based on fear of missing out. Moreover, the authors identified the key antecedents of both paths. Habit formation was observed to be a function of situational cues (technological nudges in the online sphere) and consumer engagement. Fear of missing out was shaped by both injunctive norms (a consumer norm to be online) and descriptive norms (social proof).

Although the antecedents of compulsive social media consumption suggested in this study have a strong and significant effect, the explained variance in the dependent variables being always logged in and excessive social media use indicates that there might be other drivers as well. These should be explored along with moderators other than gender and age to identify the potential boundary conditions of the model.

The main implications of the present work point to the “ease” with which typical or normal social media use may spiral out of control and become compulsive, with adverse implications for consumer health and well-being.

The behavioral and motivational paths to compulsive social media consumption have been less explored and have not yet been studied in conjunction, nor have their antecedents and consequences. Thus, this is a novel approach to understanding how social media use can potentially lead to reduced control and well-being.

To understand the mechanisms underlying social media discontinuance behavior, this study explores factors affecting social media discontinuance behavior from the perspective of social cognitive theory (SCT).

Based on SCT, this study puts forward a theoretical model incorporating habit, excessive use and negative emotions to predict social media discontinuance behavior. The proposed research model was empirically tested with 465 responses collected from WeChat users in China via an online survey. WeChat is one of the most popular social media in China. However, WeChat also faces the challenges of reduced or terminated usage among its users. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique was used to analyze the data.

The research results in this study show that habit exerts a negative effect on social media discontinuance behavior, while exhaustion and regret have positive influences. In addition, habit positively affects excessive use, which further leads to negative emotions of social media exhaustion and regret. Moreover, gender moderates the relationship between habit and social media discontinuance behavior.

This study adds to the literature of information system (IS) use lifecycle by investigating user behavioral changes regarding a transition from habituated to excessive use and further to discontinuance behavior. This study also helps elucidate the complex role of habit by explaining social media discontinuance from the social cognitive view. Furthermore, this study advances the current understanding of gender difference in social media discontinuance in the Chinese context. The study also offers insights to practitioners on how to prevent individuals from discontinuing their use of social media.

Academic literature calls for research on the impact of psychological states derived from mental illness on detrimental consumer behaviour. The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of anxiety on the consumer’s buying processes (compulsive and impulsive) and emotional regulation.

To carry out the statistical analysis, the data were obtained through an online survey (n = 726) of supermarket consumers. The treatment of the data was using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).

The results obtained show that anxiety influences the generation of harmful behaviour, as it has a positive impact on compulsive and impulsive buying. In addition, compulsive and impulsive buying generate higher levels of consumers’ emotional regulation.

This study contributes to the management of anxiety as a priority element to reduce harmful behaviour. Therefore, it provides useful information for marketing managers and professionals in psychological and healthy consumer processes.

學術文獻不斷呼籲研究人員和學者去探討來自精神病的心理狀態如何產生有害的消費者行為。本研究擬評定焦慮對消費者購買流程 (強迫性購物和衝動購物) 和情緒調節所產生的影響。

為能進行統計分析,研究人員透過超級市場消費者的在線調查 (n = 726) 取得數據,繼而以結構方程 (PLS-SEM) 處理數據。

研究結果顯示,焦慮會導致有害行為的產生,這是因為焦慮對強迫性購物和衝動購物均產生積極的影響; 而且,強迫性購物和衝動購物會產生較高水平的消費者情緒調節。

本研究的貢獻在於把焦慮視為減少有害行為的優先元素而予以管理; 因此,本研究為市場經理以及於心理上的和健康的消費者進程的專業人員提供了有用的資料。

Using role stress theory, this study examines how work connectivity behavior (WCB) blurs the lines between employees' work and personal lives, thereby encouraging procrastination at work (PAW). The study also investigates the importance of role stress and remote work self-efficacy (RWSE) as mediating and moderating factors, respectively.

The study examines the direct and indirect relationships between WCB and PAW using hierarchical regression and data from 415 Chinese teleworkers. RWSE is also estimated as a second-stage moderator.

The findings indicate that WCB has a direct and indirect (via role stress) positive influence on PAW; however, these effects are weaker among employees with higher (vs lower) RWSE.

This study assists managers and organizations in developing more efficient ways of maximizing employee and organizational performance while minimizing the counterproductive behaviors associated with excessive technology use.

By investigating the links between WCB and PAW in the post-pandemic context, this study adds a new perspective on how excessive technology use for work and non-work purposes can be counterproductive.

Millions of social media users over the last two decades have become dependent on social media that has negatively affected their lives, both physically and mentally. Earlier attempts on social media addiction (SMA) scale development have not been made in India which makes it essential to undertake such a study in this region. One of the objectives of this study was to explore and identify the relevant dimensions of the SMA in the literature. The main study objective was to develop and validate a scale on SMA in India.

The research design applied in this work was both qualitative and quantitative. Based on the literature review, some themes of SMA were recognized that were used to conduct semi-structured interviews with the concerned subjects. The interviews conducted were then transcribed, and using NVivo software application, content analysis was carried out. This helped in the identification of relevant themes that were used for preparing the questionnaire. After that an exploratory study was conducted to explore the factors of SMA. This was followed by a confirmatory analysis on a different sample that validated the instrument.

This work developed and validated a six-factor measure of SMA. The total numbers of items in the final instrument are 22. Salience, Tolerance, Mood Modification, Relapse, Withdrawal and Conflict are the six factors of the final scale.

The current designed instrument can be exceptionally functional for evaluating the occurrence and level of the SMA. This can also serve to assist in the handling and management of such online addictive behavior. A lot of productivity is lost due to the unwarranted time spent on the social media. By better understanding the dimensions of SMA, one can limit one's time on such networks.

This work can provide valuable insight into this domain and help in understanding and treatment of this malaise. It can also help parents and other stakeholders at large to comprehend the danger linked with the excessive social media use and therefore, contribute towards the society. These dimensions can also help counsellors and psychologists to better understand the addiction behavior and accordingly counsel the concerned individual.

Although many instruments have been developed in the past by researchers to measure SMA,still some aspects of the concept remain under-researched. Moreover, most of such research has been confined to the developed world regions.

This paper aims to use the five-factor model’s (FFM: emotional instability, introversion, openness to experience, agreeableness and conscientiousness) personality traits and the need for arousal to explain millennials’ habitual and addictive smartphone use and resultant materialistic inclinations. The study also test the mediating role of addictive use in the relationship between habitual use and materialism.

Participants’ self-reported data (n = 705) from a sample of millennials were gathered using a cross-sectional survey approach conducted in Malaysia and studied using structural equation modelling with partial least squares (PLS-SEM).

The results discover that emotional instability, openness to experience, agreeableness and need for arousal have a significant influence on habitual smartphone use. Conversely, introversion and conscientiousness have no significant impact on habitual use. Fascinatingly, millennials’ habitual use positively influences their materialism. Furthermore, addictive smartphone use positively affects materialism and mediates the relationship between habitual use and materialism.

The FFM, a prominent personality trait model, has been used in numerous studies to predict usage intention. However, the particular dimension of the FFM personality traits that drive habitual and addictive smartphone use to trigger materialistic tendencies among millennials needs to be exposed in an emerging market context. The results emphasise the need to consider this demographic’s personalities when attempting to comprehend how habitual use and materialism occur. This study also provides practitioners with helpful information in creating targeted interventions to encourage healthy smartphone use behaviours and reduce possible adverse effects related to addictive smartphone use and materialistic attitudes.

Hotel servicescapes have been extensively examined in the literature; however, there has been less attention on green servicescapes that attract consumers to visit green hotels. This model explores the relationship among green servicescapes – green items, green surfaces, natural environment, green consumerism and their outcomes, including intentions to return and green evangelism with a moderating role of green perceived quality.

The multi-wave method was utilized to gather data from China's major cities, Beijing and Shanghai. A total of 462 responses were received over three waves. Subsequently, the data were analyzed employing structural equation modeling (SEM) in Smart PLS 4.

The findings indicated that green servicescape – green items, green surfaces and natural environment – have a positive impact on green consumerism. The authors have discovered that green consumerism leads to positive intentions among consumers to return and engage in green evangelism. Green perceived quality significantly moderated the relationship between green servicescape and green consumerism.

The study offers insightful contributions to academia and managerial fields, encompassing consumer psychology, consumer behaviour, the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) framework and servicescapes. Additionally, it assists hotel managers in addressing challenges stemming from the competitive environment and creating a more environmentally friendly atmosphere.

The research focused on the innovative reflective model of green consumerism model and adopted a pioneering approach to examine green servicescapes within the hotel industry. This study enhances understanding of consumer intentions to return and the influence of green consumerism on green evangelism, while also quantifying the significance of green perceived quality.

Despite the dramatic increase in people's use of social media, relatively few studies have examined its effect on careers. Drawing upon social comparison theory and self-regulation theory, this study aims to investigate how career-oriented social media usage interacts with social comparison orientation (SCO) to influence the career exploration of university students.

Three waves of survey data are collected from 482 university students in China. Hypotheses are tested through ordinary least squares analysis.

Results show that career-oriented social media usage increases career anxiety, which in turn promotes career exploration. Furthermore, SCO strengthens such influence of career-oriented social media usage.

Given the limited attention paid to the effects of social media in career contexts, this study distinguishes career-oriented social media usage and proposes insights into its effect on career exploration. In doing so, this study extends social media literature and provides implications for the transition of university students from school to work in the digital era.

With the advent of the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic, there is a need to analyse the scenario of panic buying (PB) behaviour of the customers which was evident in the first wave. This paper aims to examine the PB scenario as well as the moderating effect of past buying experience (PBE) on PB in the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study is based on the theories of stimulus–organism–response model and the competitive arousal model. Based on these theories, this paper investigates how panic situation created by external stimuli such as perceived scarcity (PS), perceived risk (PR), news in media (NM) and social learning affect the perceived arousal (PA) among people which in turn influence the PB behaviour of customers. Data were collected from 253 customers from different parts of India. Structural equation modelling is used to analyse the moderating effect of PBE on the PB in the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic.

The results indicate that the PS, PR and NM continue to be strong predictors of a buyer for PA. However, the PB is not reinforced by the moderation effect of PBE.

This paper investigates the consumers’ PB behaviours in the wake of third wave of COVID-19 pandemic which add to the existing literature of COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, this study also examines how previous buying experience can moderate the PB behaviour of the customers in subsequent phases of COVID-19 pandemic. This supports the potential effectiveness of self-regulation as an intervention strategy for reducing PB behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study emphasises the impact of external stimuli like PS, PR and media coverage on PB behaviour, marketers and policymakers should manage to avoid triggers. Although PBE may not moderate PB during a pandemic, it can play a significant role in future buying behaviour. Anticipating potential triggers and designing effective marketing strategies that cater to customers' needs can help manage PB behaviour during disasters or pandemics. In addition, promoting conscious consumption awareness and self-regulation practices among customers can help manage PB behaviour, benefit the environment and society and make customers more responsible buyers.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study examines the PB behaviour of customers during the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic for the first time. This study also investigates the moderating effect of PBE on the PB behaviour of customers during a pandemic which is new and significant that extends the literature on PB behaviour during a pandemic.