From information quality to episodic discontinuation intention: cognitive and affective processes in social media browsing.

As social media browsing becomes increasingly episodic, users may develop intentions to interrupt browsing without permanently abandoning a platform. Although prior research has linked information overload to fatigue and discontinuance, less is known about how information-quality cues shape users' immediate browsing experience and short-term discontinuation intention. This study examines the effects of information veracity and redundancy on cognitive load, negative use evaluation, emotional fatigue, and episodic discontinuation intention. A 2 × 2 within-subject experiment manipulated information veracity and redundancy in a simulated social media browsing context. Participants viewed travel-related social media posts and completed self-report measures after exposure, and linear mixed-effects models were used to account for repeated observations nested within participants. Low-veracity and high-redundancy conditions were associated with higher cognitive load and more negative use evaluation. Emotional fatigue positively predicted episodic discontinuation intention. The findings clarify how information-quality cues are linked to users' short-term discontinuation intention during browsing episodes.