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Adverse consequences of emotional support seeking through social network sites in coping with stress from a global pandemic

Author

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  • Islam, A.K.M. Najmul
  • Mäntymäki, Matti
  • Laato, Samuli
  • Turel, Ofir

Abstract

This study explores how using social networking sites (SNSs) to cope with stressors induced by a global pandemic (in this case, COVID-19) can have negative consequences. The pandemic has imposed particular stressors on individuals, such as the threats of contracting the virus and of unemployment. Owing to the lockdowns and confinements implemented to limit the spread of the pandemic, SNS use has surged worldwide. Drawing on Lazarus and Folkman’s theory of stress and coping, we consider COVID-19 obsession to be an adverse emotional response to the stressors brought about by the pandemic and emotional support seeking through SNS as a coping strategy. Furthermore, we identify SNS exhaustion as an adverse outcome of this form of coping. Finally, we analyze the intention to reduce SNS use as a corrective behavioral outcome to mitigate the negative effect of SNS-mediated coping. The findings indicate that: 1) the threat of the COVID-19 disease and the threat of unemployment drive COVID-19 obsession; 2) COVID-19 obsession contributes to emotional support seeking through SNS; 3) emotional support seeking through SNS exerts a positive effect on SNS exhaustion; 4) SNS exhaustion contributes to the intention to reduce SNS use. Our results advance Information Systems (IS) research by focusing on the use of Information Technology (IT) to cope with stressors that are essentially not IT-related; such research is largely absent from previous literature. Furthermore, our paper contributes to the increasing amount of literature on IT-mediated coping with stressors and reduced social media use.

Suggested Citation

  • Islam, A.K.M. Najmul & Mäntymäki, Matti & Laato, Samuli & Turel, Ofir, 2022. "Adverse consequences of emotional support seeking through social network sites in coping with stress from a global pandemic," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ininma:v:62:y:2022:i:c:s0268401221001249
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2021.102431
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Gupta, Parul & Prashar, Anupama & Giannakis, Mihalis & Dutot, Vincent & Dwivedi, Yogesh K., 2022. "How organizational socialization occurring in virtual setting unique: A longitudinal study of socialization," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    2. Zerin Tasnim & Mahmud Akhter Shareef & Yogesh K. Dwivedi & Uma Kumar & Vinod Kumar & F. Tegwen Malik & Ramakrishnan Raman, 2023. "Tourism sustainability during COVID-19: developing value chain resilience," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 391-407, March.
    3. Mäntymäki, Matti & Najmul Islam, A.K.M. & Turel, Ofir & Dhir, Amandeep, 2022. "Coping with pandemics using social network sites: A psychological detachment perspective to COVID-19 stressors," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    4. Pang, Hua & Ruan, Yang, 2023. "Can information and communication overload influence smartphone app users' social network exhaustion, privacy invasion and discontinuance intention? A cognition-affect-conation approach," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    5. Guo, Wenshan & Luo, Qiangqiang, 2023. "Investigating the impact of intelligent personal assistants on the purchase intentions of Generation Z consumers: The moderating role of brand credibility," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    6. Sunanda Nayak & Pawan Budhwar, 2024. "Social networking sites and employer branding: a qualitative study of Indian organizations," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(2), pages 237-265, April.
    7. Jabeen, Fauzia & Tandon, Anushree & Azad, Nasreen & Islam, A.K.M. Najmul & Pereira, Vijay, 2023. "The dark side of social media platforms: A situation-organism-behaviour-consequence approach," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 186(PA).
    8. Suparna Dhar & Indranil Bose, 2023. "Corporate Users’ Attachment to Social Networking Sites: Examining the Role of Social Capital and Perceived Benefits," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 25(3), pages 1197-1217, June.

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