Social Media Sleepwalkers: Is Gen Z Opting for Unfiltered Life by Hitting Snooze on the Feed?

Abstract

Social media fatigue, also known as SMF, has gained widespread attention in recent times. It is globally renowned for affecting people's well-being. SMF impacts a person’s capability of focusing, causing bad mental health, bad sleep cycles, and tiredness, ultimately affecting the users mentally and physically. This study seeks to investigate the various aspects of SMF, particularly in the Kolkata area, aiming to enhance existing research to understand if the previously identified dynamics apply in Gen-Z situations in different cultural backgrounds. The Stressors, Strain, Outcome (SSO) model was taken as a base to analyze the relationship between SMF dynamics (Privacy concerns, Fear of Missing Out (FoMO), Self-efficacy, Information Overload, and Tech-Time Dilemma) with SM Fatigue and social media fasting. A total of 308 samples of data were collected through Google Forms. The findings imply that social media (SM) users in Kolkata prefer Instagram the most among other SM platforms, the data show a pattern in SM usage time of the teen and adults based on age. The 20-23 age group responded to experience most SMF. This study’s theoretical and practical implications may help the different stakeholders of SM in future studies to understand the possible patterns in young SM user's psyche and their perception.