This study investigates how perceived information overload and distinct negative emotions—namely fatigue, dissatisfaction and frustration–shape users’ discontinuance intentions on short-video platforms, including both reduced-usage and abandoned-usage intentions.
Drawing on the stressor-strain-outcome model, a research model was developed and empirically tested using survey data collected from 311 Douyin users in China. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was employed to assess the measurement and structural models.
The results show that perceived information overload significantly induces fatigue, frustration, and dissatisfaction. Both fatigue and frustration further contribute to dissatisfaction, with fatigue exerting the stronger effect. Among the three emotions, dissatisfaction exerts a significant impact on both reduced-usage and abandoned-usage intentions, whereas fatigue affects only reduced-usage intention. Frustration, however, exhibits no significant direct effect on either form of discontinuance. Mediation analyses reveal distinct emotional pathways: dissatisfaction partially mediates the relationship between fatigue and reduced-usage intention, and serves as a key indirect factor through which fatigue and frustration lead to abandoned-usage intention.
This study advances information systems (IS) discontinuance research by demonstrating that different negative emotions play differentiated roles in shaping stage-specific disengagement behaviors in short-video platforms. By distinguishing reduced usage from abandonment and uncovering their hierarchical relationship, the findings reconceptualize discontinuance as a progressive and emotion-driven process rather than a binary outcome. The finding further enriches emotion-based IS research and extends the IS usage lifecycle perspective in contemporary social media contexts.
