The (not so) Guilty Mouse Potato: How Appraisal of Online Procrastination Changes the Recovery Outcome After Online Media Use

• In Event: Computer-Mediated Communication

Abstract

In times of ubiquitous online communication, Internet users are challenged by numerous opportunities for dysfunctional forms of online media use. Users suffering from low situational self-control in particular, are prone to engage in online procrastination. Although procrastinators seek pleasurable short-term satisfaction of hedonic needs, procrastination with media content such as watching TV can in fact reduce overall well-being due to feelings of guilt. The present study examines whether this finding can be replicated for online communication. Additionally, it expands the research on online procrastination by investigating the role of self-forgiveness based on a sample of N = 309 Internet users. Results of a two-group structural equation model indicate that self-forgiveness moderates the effects of procrastination on guilt. This, in turn, partly restores the recovery outcome.

Authors

• Adrian Meier, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz

• Leonard Reinecke, U of Mainz

• Christine E. Meltzer, U of Mainz