Consequences of Cyberbullying and Social Overload while Using SNSs: A Study of Users’ Discontinuous Usage Behavior in SNSs

This study responds to a current phenomenon where individuals experience distress and exhaustion caused by cyberbullying and social overload while using social networking sites (SNSs). Social cognitive theory suggests that this phenomenon is caused by the interactive influences of environmental, personal, and behavioral factors, which are key unique drivers of SNS discontinuous usage intentions. This study focuses on how cyberbullying and social overload (environmental) induce distress and SNS exhaustion (personal), thereby affecting an individual’s intention to voluntarily abandon the use of SNSs (behavioral). The purpose model is tested through a sample of 314 SNS users. Empirical results indicate that cyberbullying and social overload exert a considerable impact on distress and SNS exhaustion, both of which further increase users’ intention to discontinue their usage of SNSs. This article concludes with several theoretical and practical contributions, limitations, and future research directions.