Social media can be bad for your health; how can warnings help?

Principal Investigator: Samira Farivar, Information Systems
Project Title: Devising Effective Warning Messages for Healthy Social Media Engagement
Funder: SSHRC Insight Grant

Interventions such as reminders, usage reports, and warnings (referred to collectively here as “warning messages”) have been implemented to mitigate the harms that can follow from social media use and engagement. However, while the dangers associated with social media use (e.g., anxiety, stress, and depression as well as social and behavioural problems associated with addiction, obsession, and compulsion) are well-known, the effectiveness of warning messages in mitigating these harms has yet to be established.

This research will fill this critical void by focusing on how the content, linguistic styles, and presentation features of warning messages affect users’ appraisal of their social media engagement and influence their emotional wellbeing and behaviour. It will also consider how contextual conditions (e.g., social media activities, platform features, daily usage, and user characteristics) influence the effectiveness of warning messages.

Ultimately, this research will advance the field of information systems (IS) in three ways:

1. By considering post-maladaptive consumption and promoting constructive solutions
2. By clarifying how the design and impact of warning messages influences self-regulation in social media and IS usage
3. By enhancing existing solutions for managing screen time on social media