The Stimulators of Social Media Fatigue Among Students: Role of Moral Disengagement

Abstract

There are increasing concerns about student’s possibility of becoming victim of negative online experiences, including cyberbullying victimization (CV). The outcome of these experiences on student’s psychological and mental health is not well understood. This study used stimulus–organism–response paradigm to inspect the antecedents of social media fatigue and how social media attachment (SMA) is related to internalizing disorders (depression and anxiety). We also examined the moderating role of moral disengagement in the positive association between SMA and CV. The distinctive stimulus–organism–response paradigm in the suggested model is empirically examined through a sample of 305 college students. SMA was related to more CV and greater symptoms of internalizing disorders. CV and internalizing disorders were positively associated with social media fatigue. Moral disengagement moderated the relationship between SMA and CV. Implications for online awareness struggles are discussed.