Managing trust and fatigue in social media consumption: a strategic perspective on discontinuance intention

Abstract

Despite rising social media dependence among today’s youth, concerns remain about how emergent behaviors contribute to negative outcomes and disengagement. This study examines two key drivers, phubbing and fear of missing out (FOMO), and their effects on social networking site (SNS) fatigue, daily life disruptions, and discontinuance intention. We also explore the moderating role of online trust in these relationships. A survey of 395 Gen Z users reveals that both phubbing and FOMO significantly increase SNS fatigue, which in turn contributes to daily life disturbances as individuals’ living disorders and the intention to discontinue use. Notably, online trust moderates how strongly FOMO drives fatigue and how living disorders lead to withdrawal. These findings highlight the psychological toll of digital overuse and provide practical implications for marketers and platform designers seeking to retain users in an ethical manner. This study advances digital well-being research by clarifying fatigue’s behavioral consequences and the buffering role of trust.