How does perceived overload influence international students’ educational attainment? The mediating roles of social media exhaustion and academic anxiety

Existing research indicates that social media overload, as an emerging phenomenon, has become prevalent among college students and caused unfavorable consequences. However, few studies have emphasized the detrimental effects which social media overload plays on international students in higher education. To address this gap, this current investigation combines quantitative data with the stressor-strain-outcome (SSO) paradigm to explore how social media overload impacts international students’ educational attainment. The study proposes that three forms of perceived overload, including information overload, communication overload, and technology overload, may induce international students’ academic anxiety and social media exhaustion, which can adversely affect their educational attainment. The conceptual research model is empirically examined by analyzing statistical data collected from 486 Chinese international students who actively utilize social networking sites. Results demonstrate that information overload and communication overload could indirectly undermine international students’ educational attainment via the mediation of social media exhaustion and academic anxiety. Moreover, this research also identifies that social media exhaustion could significantly trigger academic anxiety among international students. Consequently, this research complements theory-driven empirical research on the phenomenon of social media overload by employing the SSO framework and revealing the mechanism through which perceived overload affects the educational attainment of international students. The results obtained contribute to a better comprehension of the adverse consequences of SNS usage from the perspective of perceived overload, further providing fresh insights into how multiple stakeholders can reduce these unfavorable aspects through effective measures.