Does multitasking computer self-efficacy mitigate the impact of social media affordances on overload and fatigue among professionals?

Abstract

Purpose

This paper investigates the moderating role of multitasking computer self-efficacy on the relationship between social media affordances and social media overload as well as its moderation between social media overload and social media fatigue.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors hypothesize that social media affordances will have a positive impact on social media overload (i.e. information and communication overload). They also hypothesize that social media overload will affect social media fatigue. In addition, they hypothesize that multitasking computer self-efficacy will attenuate the effect of social media affordances on both information overload and communication overload. Similarly, they also hypothesize that multitasking computer self-efficacy will attenuate the effects of both information overload and communication overload on fatigue. The authors test this model by collecting two-wave data from 220 professionals using PLS techniques.

Findings

Social media affordances have significant impacts on information overload, but not on communication overload. In turn, information overload and communication overload significantly affect social media fatigue. Multitasking computer self-efficacy was found to attenuate the effect of social media affordances on both information overload and communication overload. Furthermore, the study results suggest that multitasking computer self-efficacy attenuates the effect of information overload and reinforces the effect of communication overload on social media fatigue.

Originality/value

Most prior literature focused on students rather than on professionals. There is a lack of research that investigates how the affordances of social media relate to social media overload and fatigue. Furthermore, research that investigates mitigating mechanisms of social media fatigue has been rare. This paper fills these important research gaps.

Citation

Islam, A.K.M.N., Whelan, E. and Brooks, S. (2021), "Does multitasking computer self-efficacy mitigate the impact of social media affordances on overload and fatigue among professionals?", Information Technology & People, Vol. 34 No. 5, pp. 1439-1461. https://doi.org/10.1108/ITP-10-2019-0548