Understanding the formation mechanism of mobile social media usage intention during public health emergencies: a social media dependency perspective
by Houcai Wang; Li Xiong
International Journal of Mobile Communications (IJMC), Vol. 22, No. 3, 2023

Abstract: The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the widespread application of mobile social media have made mobile social media play a crucial role in crisis communication. Understanding how the formation mechanism of mobile social media acceptance during public health emergencies is a question that mobile social media platforms and emergency agencies are focusing on. The current research intends to investigate the determinants of mobile social media usage behaviours during public health emergencies from the perspective of social media dependency. Driving data from 513 mobile social media users in China, the findings of structural equation modelling analysis reveal that social media dependency strongly affects information seeking and information sharing, which further significantly influence mobile social media usage intention during public health emergencies. However, the perceived internet censorship did not moderate the linkage between information seeking and information sharing and mobile social media usage intention. Our research results not only offer several theoretical implications for crisis communication research but also make some practical implications for mobile social media platforms and emergency agencies.

Online publication date: Fri, 01-Sep-2023

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