Staying healthy despite social pressure to be available? An experimental application of the Integrative Model of Mobile Media Use and Need Experiences (IM3UNE)

This paper aims to investigate how social pressure to be available—a situational demand arising during messenger use—affects users’ well-/ill-being. Referring to the Integrative Model of Mobile Media Use and Need Experiences , it focuses on specific mechanisms underlying this relationship: First, the mediating role of need experiences (i.e., satisfying versus frustrating users’ autonomy, competence, and relatedness) in linking social pressure to well-/ill-being; second, the moderating role of salutogenic traits (i.e., mindfulness, self-control, meaning in life, and sense of coherence) on the interplay between social pressure and need experiences, and between need experiences and well-/ill-being. These mechanisms were tested in a series of four pre-registered vignette experiments ( N 1 = 265, N 2 = 297, N 3 = 193, N 4 = 162; convenience samples). Across all experiments, the model’s mediation paths became particularly evident for autonomy and competence, but not for relatedness. However, the expected moderation effects of the respective traits were hardly supported. • social pressure to be available led to different need experiences • need experiences in turn influenced users’ affect, vitality, and stress • need for autonomy and competence (but not relatedness) served as mediating mechanisms • expected moderation effects of salutogenic traits were hardly evident • overall, effects of availability pressure on well-being were mainly detrimental