Degree

BS (Social Sciences & Liberal Arts)

Faculty / School

School of Economics and Social Sciences (SESS)

Department

Department of Social Sciences & Liberal Arts

Date of Award

Spring 2024

Date of Submission

2024-09-02

Advisor

Yumna Fatima, Lecturer, Department of Social Sciences and Liberal Arts

Project Type

SSLA Culminating Experience

Access Type

Restricted Access

Keywords

Information Overload, Desensitization, Political Violence, Social Media (Twitter)

Abstract

In today's digital age, with social media playing a significant role, young adults are constantly bombarded with information. This study seeks to understand how information overload affects the desensitization of young adults, specifically in response to tweets on political violence, using an experimental design.

The study investigates whether frequent exposure to such content reduces empathetic responses, which could indicate a decrease in empathy. This study is based on established theories such as the Inhibitory Deficit Hypothesis, Social Cognitive Theory, the Limited Capacity Model of Motivated Mediated Message Processing, and the General Adaptation Syndrome. These theories offer a framework for comprehending how information overload influences cognitive and emotional processes. The findings indicate that participants exposed to a high volume of political violence tweets have lower empathy scores, though the results are not statistically significant, implying that other factors may influence desensitization. The study adds to the existing literature on the psychological effects of social media, especially in non-Western contexts such as Pakistan. It emphasizes the need for additional research into these phenomena in a variety of cultural contexts, with a focus on real-world applications in policy, education, and social media platform design.

Pages

81

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