當受眾在其社交媒體散布資訊時，他們會增加可觸及更多人的資訊，並能使其他社交媒體用戶參與其內容。這是突發公共衛生事件中的一個關鍵。然而，給予用戶過量的資訊可能會對用戶的線上參與產生不利的影響。本研究旨在調查內容混淆失向到什麼程度會成為降低用戶在社交網站信息的參與度的潛在因素。內容混淆失向可能有助於解釋資訊超載而產生影響的機制，以及如何對用戶參與產生負面影響。借鑒同質性理論，本研究還探討了連結強度的調節作用.

研究結果顯示，儘管資訊超載似乎沒有阻止用戶參與，但資訊超載仍是內容混淆失向的一個非常重要的預測因子。研究分析發現連結強度會調節資訊超載和內容混淆失向之間的關係。連結強度，特別是緊密連結，可以幫助用戶在資訊超載的環境中減少混淆失向的感覺。本研究可能帶給媒體從業者在理解社交媒體用戶如何互動和處理資訊時的影響，以創造更多與受眾產生共鳴的豐富內容.

When audiences disseminate information on their social media, they increase information to reach and can drive other social media users to engage with the content, which is key in the midst of a public health emergency. However, perceived information overload by users can have detrimental effects on engagement with online information. This study aims to investigate to what extent disorientation works as a potential factor to decrease user engagement with information on Social Network Sites. Disorientation might help explain the mechanism through which information overload exerts its impacts and how it might negatively affect users’ engagement. Drawing upon the homophily theory, this study also explores the moderating role of tie strength.

Finding suggests that information overload is a highly significant predictor of disorientation, though none of them seem to stop user engagement. The analysis found that tie strength moderates the relationship between information overload and disorientation. Tie strength, specifically close ties, can help users alleviate feelings of disorientation when they are exposed to an environment overloaded with information. This study might have implications for media practitioners that aim to comprehend how social media users interact and approach information, in order to create more fruitful content that resonates with their audiences.

Abstract ii
1. Background of the study 1
1.1 Purpose of the study 2
2. Literature Review 4
2.1 COVID-19 and information dissemination 4
2.2 Social media and user engagement 5
2.3 Information overload and its negative effects 6
2.4 Disorientation impact on user engagement 7
2.5 Tie strength as coping methods 8
3. Methodology 13
3.1 Independent variable 13
3.2 Moderating variable 14
3.3 Mediator variable 15
3.4 Dependent Variables 15
3.5 Control variables 16
3.6 Analytical Approach 17
4. Results 20
4.1 Mediating Analysis 20
4.2 Moderating Analysis 21
5. Discussion 24
5.1 Limitations 26
6. Conclusion 27
7. References 28
Appendix 41

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