Journal of Librarianship and Information Science
2019

Linkages between information overload and acculturative stress: The case of Black diasporic immigrants in the US (Article)

Ndumu A.*
  • a University of Maryland, United States

Abstract

This study examines the information behavior of Black immigrants in the United States and specifically investigates possible linkages between information overload and acculturative stress. Focus groups were conducted with African, Afro-Caribbean, and Afro-Latinx immigrants in Florida. When analyzed according to Jaeger and Burnett’s theory of information worlds (Burnett and Jaeger, 2011; Jaeger and Burnett, 2010), the data supports that participants experience information overload as a result of the voluminous and dispersed nature of information in the US; perceptions of belonging and transnationality; and undertaking high-stakes tasks such as immigration procedures, finding employment, and understanding cultural norms. Participants felt that the large, stratified, and complex US information landscape can prompt stress. Since information overload poses a barrier to immigrant social inclusion, it can be interpreted as acculturative stress. © The Author(s) 2019.

Author Keywords

immigrants Social inclusion information overload Acculturative stress Information behavior

Index Keywords

[No Keywords available]

Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85068847241&doi=10.1177%2f0961000619857115&partnerID=40&md5=29ae20e2d687b23d89a09db1d8aa5ef5

DOI: 10.1177/0961000619857115
ISSN: 09610006
Original Language: English