Motivational and Situational Aspects of Active and Passive Social Media Breaks May Explain the Difference Between Recovery and Procrastination

Abstract

Students frequently multitask with social media (SM) during self-study. Such social media multitasking (SMM) has the potential either to support wellbeing by acting as a recovery activity or subvert it by acting as a procrastination activity. It is currently unclear which specific SM behaviours and related factors push SMM towards recovery or procrastination. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 16 undergraduates to explore which SMM behaviours and factors led to recovery or procrastination. We found that both active and passive SM breaks have the potential to be recovery or procrastination activities. Whether a SM break becomes a recovery or procrastination activity partly depends on its automaticity and situational SM factors. This paper contributes empirical evidence that supports emerging criticism of an existing simplistic understanding of the relationship between active/passive SM use and wellbeing, and demonstrates how a richer model can inform the design of technologies that support better SM breaks.

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