디지털 미디어 보는 동기와 보지 않는 동기가 미디어 단절에 미치는 영향: 경험표집법(Experience Sampling Method)을 통한 분석

The present study investigates how motivations for digital media use and non-use influence individuals’ intention and behavior to disconnect from media at both within-person and between-person levels. By distinguishing disconnection intention and actual disconnection behavior, this research aims to reveal at which level—momentary or dispositional—media disconnection is more robustly shaped. Addressing both intraindividual variations and interindividual differences allows for a more comprehensive understanding of how motivational factors dynamically interact in everyday digital environments. To this end, the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) was employed to collect repeated data once per day over seven consecutive days, capturing participants’ daily experiences and situational contexts. Multilevel modeling analysis was conducted to disentangle momentary fluctuations from stable individual tendencies. The use of ESM was particularly suited to this study because it enabled examination of media-related cognitions and behaviors as they occur in natural settings rather than relying solely on retrospective self-reports. The results revealed that between-person variance accounted for a greater proportion of the total variance than within-person fluctuations for both disconnection intention and behavior. This pattern indicates that intentions and behaviors related to media disconnection are more strongly influenced by stable individual characteristics—such as values, attitudes toward media, and usage habits—than by short-term situational changes. Disconnection motivations exerted the most substantial effects. Specifically, motivations associated with well-being and availability, social relationship management, and content avoidance or privacy protection emerged as the positive predictors of disconnection intention. Among motivations for using media, only information-seeking motivation showed a limited positive association with the intention to disconnect, whereas other use-related motivations were not statistically significant. In contrast, the analysis of actual disconnection behavior revealed more differentiated motivational patterns across behavioral levels. Well-being and availability motivations were consistently associated with weaker disconnection behaviors, indicating that individuals who rely on digital media for emotional regulation, accessibility, or everyday convenience tend to continue media use despite intentions to disconnect. In contrast, content avoidance and privacy protection motivation strengthened device-level disconnection, and status-seeking motivation facilitated message-level disconnection. These findings indicate that motivations for and against digital media use (use and non-use motivations) operate differently depending on the behavioral domain, rather than exerting uniform influences on overall disconnection. Overall, the study demonstrates that media disconnection is not merely a matter of avoidance but a complex, multi-layered process shaped by the interplay of diverse and sometimes conflicting motivational forces. By integrating within- and between-person perspectives, this research highlights the structural and psychological foundations of digital media disconnection and provides new insights into the dynamics of digital well-being.