OVERVIEW ON SOCIAL MEDIA USER BEHAVIOR DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: FROM FEAR OF MISSING OUT AND SOCIAL NETWORKING FATIGUE TO PRIVACY CONCERNS

Authors

  • Daniel MICAN Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, România. E-mail: daniel.mican@econ.ubbcluj.ro https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0277-9700
  • Ioana Sorina ANDREICA (MIHUȚ) Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, România. Email: ioana.mihut@econ.ubbcluj.ro https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2564-5342
  • Luigia-Gabriela STERIE Babeş-Bolyai University, România.
  • Dan-Andrei SITAR-TAUT Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Babeş-Bolyai University. E-mail: dan.sitar@econ.ubbcluj.ro https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5360-3874

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2478/subboec-2022-0007

Keywords:

social media; social networking sites; user perceptions; COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Social networking sites and social media serve as vital avenues of interaction among people all over the world as well as essential platforms for the distribution of information. Companies, like individuals, embrace social networks as a non-formal way to engage with their customers and suppliers, gather information about their online behavior, and offer personalized content. Both scholars and managers from various organizations looking to increase their competitive edge or market shares have an interest in the impact that social networks have on human behavior. Because of this, the current research seeks to investigate how users perceive a wide range of concepts related to using social networking sites, including fear of missing out (FoMO), social networking fatigue, information and communication overload, ubiquitous connectivity and peer communication, and privacy concerns. The authors also examined users' intentions to continue using social networking sites despite the COVID-19 outbreak in order to ensure a more thorough understanding of the research topic. The findings aim to provide a better knowledge of how users see interaction on social networks in their daily lives as well as an overview of user perspectives on the terms mentioned above.

JEL classification: I00, I12;

Author Biographies

Daniel MICAN, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, România. E-mail: daniel.mican@econ.ubbcluj.ro

Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Babeş-Bolyai University, 58-60, Theodor Mihaly Street, 400591, Cluj-Napoca, România,
E-mail: daniel.mican@econ.ubbcluj.ro

Ioana Sorina ANDREICA (MIHUȚ), Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, România. Email: ioana.mihut@econ.ubbcluj.ro

Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Babeş-Bolyai University, 58-60, Theodor Mihaly Street, 400591, Cluj-Napoca, România. Email: ioana.mihut@econ.ubbcluj.ro

Luigia-Gabriela STERIE, Babeş-Bolyai University, România.

Babeş-Bolyai University, România. gabriela.sterie@yahoo.com

Dan-Andrei SITAR-TAUT, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Babeş-Bolyai University. E-mail: dan.sitar@econ.ubbcluj.ro

Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Babeş-Bolyai University, 58-60, Theodor Mihaly Street, 400591, Cluj-Napoca, România, E-mail: dan.sitar@econ.ubbcluj.ro

References

Berezan, O., Krishen, A.S., Agarwal, S. and Kachroo, P. (2020), “Exploring loneliness and social networking: Recipes for hedonic well-being on Facebook”, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 115, pp. 258–265.

Cao, D., Meadows, M., Wong, D. and Xia, S. (2021), “Understanding consumers’ social media engagement behaviour: An examination of the moderation effect of social media context”, Journal of Business Research, Elsevier Inc., Vol. 122, pp. 835–846.

Cheung, M.L., Leung, W.K.S., Aw, E.C.-X. and Koay, K.Y. (2022), “‘I follow what you post!’: The role of social media influencers’ content characteristics in consumers’ online brand-related activities (COBRAs)”, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier Ltd, Vol. 66 No. February, p. 102940.

Choi, S. (2016), “The flipside of ubiquitous connectivity enabled by smartphone-based social networking service: Social presence and privacy concern”, Computers in Human Behavior, Elsevier Ltd, Vol. 65, pp. 325–333.

Fioravanti, G., Casale, S., Benucci, S.B., Prostamo, A., Falone, A., Ricca, V. and Rotella, F. (2021), “Fear of missing out and social networking sites use and abuse: A meta-analysis”, Computers in Human Behavior, Elsevier Ltd, Vol. 122 No. November 2020, p. 106839.

Gao, W., Liu, Z., Guo, Q. and Li, X. (2018), “The dark side of ubiquitous connectivity in smartphone-based SNS: An integrated model from information perspective”, Computers in Human Behavior, Elsevier Ltd, Vol. 84, pp. 185–193.

Hussain, Z. and Wegmann, E. (2021), “Problematic social networking site use and associations with anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and resilience”, Computers in Human Behavior Reports, Elsevier Ltd, Vol. 4, p. 100125.

Islam, A.K.M.N., Laato, S., Talukder, S. and Sutinen, E. (2020), “Misinformation sharing and social media fatigue during COVID-19: An affordance and cognitive load perspective”, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, North-Holland, Vol. 159, p. 120201.

Jung, A.-R. (2017), “The influence of perceived ad relevance on social media advertising: An empirical examination of a mediating role of privacy concern”, Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 70, pp. 303–309.

Li, L., Niu, Z., Mei, S. and Griffiths, M.D. (2022), “A network analysis approach to the relationship between fear of missing out (FoMO), smartphone addiction, and social networking site use among a sample of Chinese university students”, Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 128 No. April 2021, available at:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.107086.

Li, N., Najafian Razavi, M. and Gillet, D. (2011), “Trust-aware privacy control for social media”, Proceedings of the 2011 Annual Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems - CHI EA ’11, ACM Press, New York, New York, USA, p. 1597.

Margulis, A., Boeck, H. and Laroche, M. (2020), “Connecting with consumers using ubiquitous technology: A new model to forecast consumer reaction”, Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, Vol. 121 No. April 2019, pp. 448–460.

Mican, D. and Sitar-Taut, D.-A. (2020), “Analysis of the Factors Impacting the Online Shopping Decision-Making Process”, Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai Oeconomica, Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Vol. 65 No. 1, pp. 54–66.

Mican, D., Sitar-Tăut, D.-A. and Mihuţ, I.-S. (2020), “User Behavior on Online Social Networks: Relationships among Social Activities and Satisfaction”, Symmetry 2020, Vol. 12, Page 1656, Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, Vol. 12 No. 10, p. 1656.

Musetti, A., Manari, T., Billieux, J., Starcevic, V. and Schimmenti, A. (2022), “Problematic social networking sites use and attachment: A systematic review”, Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 131 No. October 2021, p. 107199.

Onofrei, G., Filieri, R. and Kennedy, L. (2022), “Social media interactions, purchase intention, and behavioural engagement: The mediating role of source and content factors”, Journal of Business Research, Elsevier Inc., Vol. 142 No. May 2021, pp. 100–112.

Pilatti, A., Bravo, A.J., Michelini, Y., Aguirre, P. and Pautassi, R.M. (2021), “Self-control and problematic use of social networking sites: Examining distress tolerance as a mediator among Argentinian college students”, Addictive Behaviors Reports, Elsevier Ltd, Vol. 14, p. 100389.

Sitar-Taut, D.-A., Mican, D., Frömbling, L. and Sarstedt, M. (2021), “Digital Socialligators? Social Media-Induced Perceived Support During the Transition to the COVID-19 Lockdown”, Social Science Computer Review, p. 089443932110658.

Sun, Y., Liu, Y., Zhang, J.Z., Fu, J., Hu, F., Xiang, Y. and Sun, Q. (2021), “Dark side of enterprise social media usage: A literature review from the conflict-based perspective”, International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier Ltd, Vol. 61 No. October 2019, p. 102393.

Tandon, A., Dhir, A., Islam, N., Talwar, S. and Mäntymäki, M. (2021), “Psychological and behavioral outcomes of social media-induced fear of missing out at the workplace”, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 136 No. July, pp. 186–197.

Zafar, A.U., Shen, J., Ashfaq, M. and Shahzad, M. (2021), “Social media and sustainable purchasing attitude: Role of trust in social media and environmental effectiveness”, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier Ltd, Vol. 63 No. August, p. 102751.

Zhou, T. (2020), “The effect of information privacy concern on users’ social shopping intention”, Online Information Review, Vol. 44 No. 5, pp. 1119–1133.

Downloads

Published

2022-08-30

How to Cite

MICAN, D. ., ANDREICA (MIHUȚ), I. S., STERIE, L.-G. ., & SITAR-TAUT, D.-A. (2022). OVERVIEW ON SOCIAL MEDIA USER BEHAVIOR DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: FROM FEAR OF MISSING OUT AND SOCIAL NETWORKING FATIGUE TO PRIVACY CONCERNS. Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai Oeconomica, 67(2), 21–32. https://doi.org/10.2478/subboec-2022-0007

Issue

Section

Articles