Social media as a disrupter: its impact on event experience

This paper investigates the impact of social media as a potential distraction during live events, analysing how it disrupts audience immersion in the event and contributes to potential post-event regret. Specifically, it explores how the use of social media during an event can lead individuals to feel as though they missed critical aspects of the experience, subsequently resulting in regret over their divided attention. Social media platforms, often encouraged in live events, serve to extend the event experience beyond the physical environment, enhancing participation and community engagement. However, these platforms may also function as distractions, diverting attention away from the event itself and undermining the depth of engagement. This study proposes a conceptual framework that integrates distraction-conflict theory, immersion theory, and the theory of regret to explore how social media usage can create an attention conflict during events, leading to diminished immersion and potential feelings of regret. Through a review of existing literature and theoretical frameworks, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the complex relationship between social media engagement and event experiences, highlighting how the intersection of social media, immersion, and distraction can influence event satisfaction and emotional outcomes such as regret.