The effects of social media addiction on reading practice: a survey of undergraduate students in China
| Date | 15 September 2022 |
| Pages | 670-682 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-05-2022-0111 |
| Published date | 15 September 2022 |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Records management & preservation,Document management,Classification & cataloguing,Information behaviour & retrieval,Collection building & management,Scholarly communications/publishing,Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance,Information management,Information & communications technology,Internet |
| Author | Ziming Liu,Rui Hu,Xiaojun Bi |
The effects of social media
addiction on reading practice:
a survey of undergraduate
students in China
Ziming Liu
School of Information, San Jose State University, San Jose, California, USA
Rui Hu
College of Business and Economics, California State University Los Angeles,
Los Angeles, California, USA, and
Xiaojun Bi
Guangzhou Arts School, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China
Abstract
Purpose –The prevalence of digital reading and the widespread use of social media among young people
demands systematic exploration of the effects of social media addiction on students’reading practice. This
paper aims to explore the effects of social media addiction on reading preferences, in-depth reading and
sustained attention.
Design/methodology/approach –Survey and analysis methods are employed.
Findings –For many, social media provides an ideal platform of connection and expression; however,
prolonged social media use holds the danger of becoming a behavioral addiction that threatens to undermine
one’s reading practice. Social media use tends to have a more significant impact on leisure reading than on
academic reading. Obsessive engagement with social media hurts reading concentration and in-depth reading.
While a majority (70.4%) of those surveyedbelieved that chronic social media use carries more harm than good
on their learning, only half (50.1%) agreed or strongly agreed that today’s students are too indulged in social
media and need forceful control of it.
Originality/value –Implications of the effects of social media on reading practice are discussed, and
directions forfuture research are suggested. It is likely that social media will continue to be seductive, attracting
new generations of young people. Future research should explore prevention strategies.
Keywords Social media, Addiction, Reading, Behaviour, User studies
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
We live in an age of addiction and distraction. Technological advancement is finding ways to
keep us obsessively connected and fostering addictive temptations. From video streaming
and gaming to social media and messaging, the digitally connected world is teeming with
addiction and distraction.
Addiction is not a new problem, as people have been addicted to substances for thousands
of years. However, the arrival of social media raises this issue in a new way. As the popularity
of social media grows, so too does the additive use of this new technology (Sun and Zhang,
2021). This addiction is characterized by people spending significant time on social media
each day, people feeling the constant urge to check social media, people feeling troubled if
they are unable to check their accounts, and people indulging in social media so deeply and so
often that they forget important tasks.
JD
79,3
670
The authors appreciate the constructive comments from the anonymous referees.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/0022-0418.htm
Received 18 May 2022
Revised 27 August 2022
Accepted 29 August 2022
Journal of Documentation
Vol. 79 No. 3, 2023
pp. 670-682
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0022-0418
DOI 10.1108/JD-05-2022-0111
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