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This research aims to discover the relationship between social media usage (SMU) and the critical thinking ability (CTA) of university students, and to answer the question that whether social media dependence (SMD) affects the development of CTA, and thus providing a reference for the social media access strategy of academic libraries from the perspective of media information literacy.

The research data were collected via 300 valid questionnaires whose respondents are students from three universities in China. Multistage stratified cluster sampling method was used to select the respondents, which guarantees statistical representativeness. A pre-test was conducted to ensure the validity of the questionnaire.

It is shown that the total score of CTA and the six sub-dimensions are significantly positively correlated with SMU, but strongly negatively correlated with SMD. Based on the mediating effect testing, it is discovered that the degree of SMD can affect the promoting relations between the usage intensity of social media (UISM) and CTA. Clearly, SMU is a double-edged sword. While it narrows the digital gap in terms of accessibility, it widens the digital gap in terms of usage.

The differences in SMU have a significant impact on the development of CTA of university students. This inspires us to consider the ability of “using social media in a balanced way” as an important evaluation and training direction when inquiring media literacy. As social media is becoming a critical channel in cultivating individual's thinking skills, it is highly suggested that the amount of time spent on reading fragmented information on the internet should be controlled.

The problematic use of social media progressively worsens among a large proportion of users. However, the theory-driven investigation into social media addiction behavior remains far from adequate. Among the countable information system studies on the dark side of social media, the focus lies on users' subjective feelings and perceived value. The technical features of the social media platform have been ignored. Accordingly, this study explores the formation of social media addiction considering the perspectives of users and social media per se on the basis of extended motivational framework and attachment theory.

This study investigates the formation of social media addiction with particular focus on WeChat. A field survey with 505 subjects of WeChat users was conducted to investigate the research model.

Results demonstrate that social media addiction is determined by individuals' emotional and functional attachment to the platform. These attachments are in turn influenced by motivational (perceived enjoyment and social interaction) and technical (informational support, system quality and personalization) factors.

First, this study explains the underlying mechanism of how users develop social media addiction. Second, it highlights the importance of users' motivations and emotional dependence at this point. It also focuses on the technical system of the platform that plays a key role in the formation of addictive usage behavior. Third, it extends attachment theory to the context of social media addictive behavior.

With the rapid development of social media in the past few years, some dark aspects of usage have appeared, e.g., Weibo addiction. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to address the question of how Weibo keeps users hooked.

The study utilizes the netnography method to explore the symptoms of Weibo addiction and how it is formed.

First, some Weibo users have typical symptoms of addictive behavior, such as withdrawal, loss of control and general living problems; second, narcissism plays an important role in the process of Weibo addiction and has a stronger effect on content generation than content consumption; third, some users use Weibo as a means to alleviate anxiety, but they can then become more anxious owing to addiction; and fourth, the effect of comments has two sides – on the one hand, comments are one kind of feedback to posts, satisfying posters’ social needs, while on the other hand, a storytelling system consists of one post and its comments, upon which some Weibo users become more dependent.

This research is only a preliminary, exploratory study. Therefore, care should be taken when interpreting these findings.

This study should help social media service providers and users to pay attention to the risk of social media addiction. Social media service providers should take social responsibility, design more user-oriented guidelines for marketing ethics and launch more responsible marketing activities. Users should enhance self-control and better balance social media use and offline real life.

Netnography has not been widely used as an addictive behavior research technique. This study is further bolstered because it has also noticed the difference of addiction mechanisms between addictive micro-bloggers and their followers.

This research aims to explore how social media influences the academic performance of university students in Bangladesh and examines the benefits and drawbacks of its usage.

We distributed a well-structured questionnaire among students enrolled in various programs at different universities in Bangladesh to collect data. We analyzed the data using factor analysis and regression models to uncover the impact of social media on academic performance.

Our research findings demonstrate that social media plays a crucial role in facilitating communication, information sharing and content development among university students in Bangladesh. Excessive reliance on social media can lead to dependence and hinder innovation, as students tend to excessively rely on readily available resources.

We relied on self-reported data from a limited sample size, which may affect the generalizability of our findings.

This study highlights the need to promote responsible use of social media among university students in Bangladesh to enhance their academic performance. We recommend implementing effective policy measures to control and manage undesired usage patterns, foster an intellectually equipped student body and contribute to the development of a knowledgeable and successful Bangladesh.

This research makes a significant contribution by examining the influence of social media on academic performance among university students in Bangladesh. It proposes practical policy measures to address the drawbacks associated with excessive reliance on social media, thereby contributing to decision-making and intervention strategies for promoting responsible usage.

Although social media is widely used for organizational communication, studies have begun to show its controversial effects on job performance in the workplace. To investigate these effects, this study developed a conceptual framework for how social media interactivity affects communication quality and work interruption, as well as how such effects impact job performance.

The proposed theoretical model was empirically validated through a survey study of 556 employees in China.

The results verified a social media interactivity paradox that indicated social media interactivity increased both communication quality and work interruptions. The results further showed that high levels of social media dependency were a detriment to organizations.

This study verified the existence of a social media interactivity paradox in the use of social media for workplace communication. Moreover, results revealed that the effect of social media interactivity on organizational outcomes depends on its respective dimensions.

The purpose of this study is to explore customer-artificial intelligence (AI) service technology engagement and relationship development drivers, as well as potential negative consequences in the context of social chatbots.

A sequential mixed-method approach combined exploratory qualitative and confirmatory quantitative analyses. A conceptual model developed from Study 1 qualitative content analysis of in-depth interviews with active users of the AI social chatbot Replika was tested in Study 2 by analyzing survey data obtained from current Replika users.

Loneliness, trust and chatbot personification drive consumer engagement with social chatbots, which fosters relationship development and has the potential to cause chatbot psychological dependence. Attachment to a social chatbot intensifies the positive role of engagement in relationship development with the chatbot.

This study was the first to combine qualitative and quantitative approaches to explore drivers, boundary conditions and consequences of relationship and dependence formation with social chatbots. The authors proposed and empirically tested a novel theoretical model that revealed an engagement-based mechanism of relationship and dependence formation with social chatbots.

As an unhealthy dependence on social media platforms, social media addiction (SMA) has become increasingly commonplace in the digital era. The purpose of this paper is to provide a general overview of SMA research and develop a theoretical model that explains how different types of factors contribute to SMA.

Considering the nascent nature of this research area, this study conducted a systematic review to synthesize the burgeoning literature examining influencing factors of SMA. Based on a comprehensive literature search and screening process, 84 articles were included in the final sample.

Analyses showed that antecedents of SMA can be classified into three conceptual levels: individual, environmental and platform. The authors further proposed a theoretical framework to explain the underlying mechanisms behind the relationships amongst different types of variables.

The contributions of this review are two-fold. First, it used a systematic and rigorous approach to summarize the empirical landscape of SMA research, providing theoretical insights and future research directions in this area. Second, the findings could help social media service providers and health professionals propose relevant intervention strategies to mitigate SMA.

Internet user privacy risks have been a topical subject with respect to consumers, corporations and governments. In line with the recent privacy scandals linked to social media, the aim of this study is to explore users’ privacy protection behaviors (PPB) on Facebook through the actions they take to protect their privacy, their underlying motives and the values behind these protective actions. Moreover, this study aims to address an unintended consequence of Facebook usage. Despite Facebook’s positive and uplifting goal of connecting people, consumers are forced to resort to specific behaviors to protect their privacy and well-being.

This study adopts an exploratory research approach by using a well-established qualitative technique: structured laddering interviews. In total, 20 in-depth personal interviews were conducted with the Millennials.

Results show that the process of privacy protection is initiated by experiences, uncertainty and literacy, rather than threats, which leads to concerns that trigger PPBs. The most common PPBs include: “Reflection,” “Avoidance,” “Intervention,” “Restriction,” “Control,” and “Restraint.” The underlying motives for the adoption of these strategies include: “Success,” “Security,” “Social Recognition,” “A World of Peace,” “Exclusivity of Self,” “Being in Control,” “Meaning” and “True Friendship”.

The present research adopts a transdisciplinary framework to help fill the gap regarding the interplay of PPBs on Facebook, the triggers of those behaviors and their underlying motives. It contributes to the service literature and practice as it provides insights into a growing area of interest, whereas more social media channels are being created and more services are using social media strategies to engage and interact with their customers. Finally, it addresses the growing need to consider the impact of technological services, including internet and social media, on consumers’ and societies’ well-being.

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.

Grounded on the cognition–affect–conation (C–A–C) framework, this study aims to explore how perceived information overload affects the information avoidance intention of social media users through fatigue, frustration and dissatisfaction.

A quantitative research design is adopted. The data collected from 254 respondents in China are analyzed via structural equation modeling (SEM).

Perceived information overload directly affects fatigue, frustration and dissatisfaction among social media users, thereby affecting their information avoidance intention. In addition, frustration significantly affects social media fatigue and dissatisfaction. Consequently, social media fatigue influences dissatisfaction among users.

The literature review indicates that social media overload and fatigue yield negative behavioral outcomes, including discontinuance. However, rather than completely abstaining or escaping, social media users adopt moderate strategies, including information avoidance, to cope with overload and fatigue owing to their high dependence on social media. Unfortunately, merely few studies are available on the information avoidance behavior of social media users. Focusing on this line of research, the current study develops a model to investigate the antecedents of information avoidance in social media.