When Professional Networking Becomes Exhausting: Passive LinkedIn Use, Communication Overload, and Social Media Fatigue

Professional social networking has received considerably less research attention than private social media, particularly with regard to passive use and social media fatigue. The present study examined the association between passive LinkedIn use and social media fatigue and investigated whether communication overload and information overload may account for this association. In addition, the study provides a preliminary LinkedIn-specific adaptation of an existing measure of professional social media use, the LinkedIn Activity Questionnaire (LAQ). Data were collected from an online sample of 137 LinkedIn users. Correlation analyses and a parallel mediation model were conducted, controlling for weekly LinkedIn use. Passive LinkedIn use was positively associated with communication overload but not with information overload or social media fatigue. Both communication overload and information overload were positively associated with social media fatigue. The parallel mediation analysis revealed a significant specific indirect effect through communication overload, whereas the indirect effect through information overload was not significant. Neither the total nor the direct association between passive LinkedIn use and social media fatigue was significant. These findings suggest that communication overload may represent a particularly relevant pathway linking passive LinkedIn use and social media fatigue in professional social networking contexts. The findings also provide initial support for the usefulness of the LAQ as a LinkedIn-specific operationalization, while further psychometric validation is warranted.