Social media fatigue and associated factors among registered nurses in northeastern China: a cross-sectional study

With the rapid advancement of the digital era, social media has become deeply embedded in individuals’ daily and professional contexts, and concerns regarding social media fatigue have increasingly drawn scholarly attention. However, existing evidence on social media fatigue primarily comes from adolescents and student populations, leaving it unclear whether these findings apply to frontline nurses who face substantial workloads and complex role demands. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,642 registered nurses from two tertiary hospitals in northeastern China between September and October 2025. Guided by the Job Demands–Resources model and previous empirical evidence, data were collected on social media fatigue and prespecified factors encompassing demographic and occupational characteristics, occupational demands, organizational and social resources, personal resources, and recovery- and psychological-health-related states. An item-level network analysis was performed to examine conditional associations among the 18 social media fatigue items, while multiple linear regression was used to examine factors associated with the overall social media fatigue score. The mean Social Media Fatigue Scale score was 47.4 (SD = 18.5). The item “I sometimes want to reduce or stop using social media” showed the strongest expected influence in the item-level network. Compared with no perceived workload, light (β = 0.144, p < 0.001), moderate (β = 0.247, p < 0.001), and heavy perceived workload (β = 0.235, p < 0.001) were associated with higher social media fatigue. Compared with almost no post-work contact, occasional (β = 0.075, p = 0.003) and sometimes post-work contact (β = 0.058, p = 0.020) were also associated with higher social media fatigue. Greater general self-efficacy (β = 0.089, p = 0.005) and more severe insomnia (β = 0.198, p < 0.001) were positively associated with social media fatigue, whereas greater perceived social support was negatively associated with social media fatigue (β = −0.163, p < 0.001). Among registered nurses recruited from two tertiary hospitals in northeastern China, the intention to reduce or discontinue social media use occupied the most central position in the item-level network. Social media fatigue was associated with occupational demands, personal and social resources, and sleep-related recovery, providing preliminary evidence to inform organizational support for nurses’ digital health and occupational well-being.