Habitual social media use as everyday information behavior: interruption, refusal and self-regulation among older adults

Purpose This article examines habitual social media use among older adults as everyday information behavior, focusing on how repeated use reaches closure, remains renewable or becomes interrupted. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-methods study combined a survey of 198 Taiwanese adults aged 55 and above with ten follow-up interviews. Motivation composites, Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS) scores and interview accounts were analyzed around the Hook cycle. Findings Self-validation and relaxation were more closely associated with problematic-use tendency than information learning. Learning-oriented use usually ended when a question was answered or a task could continue; recognition and relief were easier to renew through replies, likes, recommendations and temporary escape from worry. Participants limited use through filtering triggers, pacing action, sorting rewards and refusing investment. Research limitations/implications The sample was recruited largely through libraries and community learning settings, so findings are best read as showing how structured everyday settings shape interruption rather than as population estimates. Originality/value The study extends information behavior research by treating interruption and refusal as information judgments within habitual social media use.