During periods of public unrest, people tend to increase their daily usage of social media sites, such as Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp, to keep themselves abreast of developments and share their opinions. Over the last trimester of 2019, there were many demonstrations of public unrest in Latin-American countries, including Ecuador, Chile, and Bolivia. These events boosted the social media use. Individuals are exposed to information that is more sensitive and engaging than what is encountered in less agitated times. For instance, images of clashes between demonstrators and police, graphic violence, fake news, and accusations become more plentiful. The increased online interaction and the engaging nature of information during extended periods of public unrest may encourage the development of social media addiction. This study explores the sense of virtual community theory and uses self-assertion as moderator to capture the drivers of online social media addiction in the context of public unrest. Results reveal that immersion has a significant association with addiction, and self-assertion moderates the relationship between influence and membership.

在公共动乱期间，人们倾向于增加他们对Facebook，Instagram或WhatsApp等社交媒体网站的日常使用，以了解最新动态并分享自己的观点。在2019年的最后三个月中，拉丁美洲国家（包括厄瓜多尔，智利和玻利维亚）发生了许多公共骚乱示威。这些事件促进了社交媒体的使用。个人所面临的信息比动荡不安的时代所面临的信息更加敏感和引人入胜。例如，示威者与警察之间发生冲突的图像，暴力图片，假新闻和指控变得更加丰富。在长时间的公共骚乱中，在线互动的增加和信息的吸引力可能会鼓励社交媒体上瘾的发展。这项研究探索了虚拟社区理论的意义，并以自我主张作为主持人来捕捉在公共动乱背景下网络社交媒体成瘾的驱动因素。结果表明，沉浸感与成瘾有着显着的联系，而自言自语则缓和了影响力与成员资格之间的关系。