Open Access

Christopher Zerres, Thomas Breyer-Mayländer

• Social media has become an integral part of daily life for many individuals, serving as a platform for communication, information sharing, and entertainment. However, the extensive use of social media has led to issues such as information overload and social media fatigue, where users feel overwhelmed and emotionally exhausted by constant interaction and content. This paper investigates cognitiveSocial media has become an integral part of daily life for many individuals, serving as a platform for communication, information sharing, and entertainment. However, the extensive use of social media has led to issues such as information overload and social media fatigue, where users feel overwhelmed and emotionally exhausted by constant interaction and content. This paper investigates cognitive social media literacy skills—appraisal, comprehension, curation, and interaction—and their ability to mitigate perceived overload. Based on a quantitative study of 335 respondents, the results confirm that higher social media literacy reduces perceived information overload, but only the skill “appraisal” significantly lowers communication overload. The study highlights the critical role of social media literacy in reducing negative social media effects, offering practical insights for policymakers, educators, and platform developers to address social media fatigue.…