The inhibiting effects of information overload on the behavior of online social media users, can affect the population-level characteristics of information dissemination through online conversations. We introduce a mechanistic, agent-based model of information overload and investigate the effects of information overload threshold and rate of information loss on observed online phenomena. We find that conversation volume and participation are lowest under high information overload thresholds and mid-range rates of information loss. Calibrating the model to user responsiveness data on Twitter, we replicate and explain several observed phenomena: (1) Responsiveness is sensitive to information overload threshold at high rates of information loss; (2) Information overload threshold and rate of information loss are Pareto-optimal and users may experience overload at inflows exceeding 30 notifications per hour; (3) Local abundance of small cascades of modest global popularity and local scarcity of larger cascades of high global popularity explains why overloaded users receive, but do not respond to large, highly popular cascades; 4) Users typically work with 7 notifications per hour; 5) Over-exposure to information can suppress the likelihood of response by overloading users, contrary to analogies to biologically-inspired viral spread. Reconceptualizing information spread with the mechanisms of information overload creates a richer representation of online conversation dynamics, enabling a deeper understanding of how (dis)information is transmitted over social media.

中文翻译：

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信息过载对在线对话动态的影响

信息过载对在线社交媒体用户行为的抑制作用，可能会影响通过在线对话进行信息传播的人口层次特征。我们引入了一种基于代理的机械化信息过载模型，并研究了信息过载阈值和信息丢失率对观察到的在线现象的影响。我们发现在高信息过载阈值和中等范围的信息丢失率下，对话量和参与度最低。在Twitter上根据用户响应数据校准模型，我们复制并解释了以下观察到的现象：（1）在信息丢失率很高的情况下，响应对信息过载阈值敏感；（2）信息过载阈值和信息丢失率是帕累托最优的，并且用户每小时流入的通知超过30条时可能会遇到过载；（3）在全球范围内流行度不高的小型级联的本地丰富度以及在全球范围内具有较高流行度的较大级联的本地稀缺性解释了为什么超负荷用户会收到但不响应大型，高度流行的级联；4）用户通常每小时处理7条通知；5）过度暴露信息可以抑制用户超负荷反应的可能性，这与以生物为灵感的病毒传播类似。通过信息过载机制对信息传播进行重新概念化，可以更丰富地表示在线对话的动态，从而可以更深入地了解如何通过社交媒体传输（传播）信息。