To read this content please select one of the options below:

(excl. tax) 30 days to view and download

How emotions affect the outcomes of information overload: information avoidance or information consumption?

Xusen Cheng, Shuang Zhang, Bo Yang

Internet Research

ISSN: 1066-2243

Article publication date: 11 July 2024

442

Abstract

Purpose

Information overload has become ubiquitous during a public health emergency. The research purpose is to examine the role of mixed emotions in the influence of perceived information overload on individuals’ information avoidance intention and the state of fear of missing out.

Design/methodology/approach

A mixed-methods approach was used in this study: a qualitative study of 182 semi-structured interviews and a quantitative study of 309 surveys.

Findings

The results show that perceived information overload negatively affects peace of mind and positively affects fatigue and fear. Emotions with a low activation level (peace of mind and fatigue) promote emotions with a high activation level (hope and fear), and peace of mind negatively influences fatigue. Additionally, peace of mind negatively affects information avoidance intention, while hope positively affects the state of fear of missing out. These two information processing outcomes are positively impacted by fatigue and fear.

Originality/value

This study extends existing knowledge by uncovering the underlying influence of mixed emotions on individuals’ different information processing outcomes caused by perceived information overload. It provides practical insights for online media platforms and Internet users regarding how to process overwhelming information during a public health emergency.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 72271236, 72061147005), School of Interdisciplinary Studies in Renmin University of China and Metaverse Research Center in Renmin University of China for providing funding for part of this research.

Citation

Cheng, X., Zhang, S. and Yang, B. (2024), "How emotions affect the outcomes of information overload: information avoidance or information consumption?", Internet Research, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/INTR-05-2023-0390

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited

Related articles