Binge-watching on Reels/Shorts in Social Media Ecosystem: A Study on User Motivation, Gratification and Behavior

Abstract. The social sharing of emotion is the process of communicating with others about one’s significant emotional experiences. Recent research has shown that interpersonal media such as texting, voice calling, and social network site posts are widely used for social sharing, yet it has not investigated how and why people use these media. This article takes on the task of investigating the mechanism responsible for media selection for the first instance of social sharing. A survey of undergraduates ( N = 227) shows that respondents’ media use for sharing positive and negative events was driven by their perceptions of media affordances and by their habitual media use with the target of their disclosure. For positive events, respondents articulated preferences for accessibility, while for negative events, they preferred bandwidth and privacy affordances. Habitual media use was the strongest predictor of media use for social sharing, but the perceived importance of these affordances predicted media use above and beyond media habits. These findings extend the social-sharing framework and the literature on media selection in social contexts.

It has often been shown that the amount of media use is negatively related to cognitive outcomes. The more time spent on media the poorer cognitive performance is. This association has mainly been found for general-audience, violent, and action-loaded contents but not for educational contents. Typically, long-term-explanations like the time-displacement hypothesis are considered to account for this relation, although this cannot fully explain the association. Additionally short-term explanations should be considered, since it can be expected that media-induced stress can impair information processing. The present study compares short-term effects regarding memory performance and the ability to concentrate, using four different experimental conditions (high- vs. low-arousing films and video games). It was also examined if the experienced level of stress mediates group differences and if habitual media, habitual use of age-restricted contents or the trait sensation seeking moderate this mediation. Participants consisted of N = 117 university students. They were asked to learn written items before media use and to recall these after having used the media. Further, the ability to concentrate was measured. Experimental groups differed with regard to the cognitive outcome measures after media use. A significant univariate difference was found for high- vs. low-arousing contents in general (independent of type of media), the high-arousing content leading to poorer ability to concentrate after media use. The expected mediating and moderating effects are not supported. The study yields evidence that short-term mechanisms might play a role in explaining the negative correlations between media use and cognitive performance.

Previous research has indicated that media technologies and media use form an important cultural glue within generations. Younger generations, in particular, have been noted to build their generational identity around the technology and devices that they use. We believe it is important to explore how generations and shared identities are constructed, especially in unusual circumstances that lead to in-depth self-reflexivity. The aim of this study was to see how the disruption of habitual social media use helps to outline the generational self-construction of young adults. We invited 19-23-year-old students (N=42) to disrupt their habitual media use by participating in a five-day social media detox and to reflect upon this experience in their social media detox diaries. By doing so, the young in our sample helped to self-narrate and construct their generational identity characteristic of present-day youth. Our findings indicate that many of the young participants, indeed recognized social media as dominant generational glue, and expressed annoyance and submissive resignation when looking at the practices of themselves and their peers, who were described in most cases as “addicted” to smart devices. Disruption from the norm of constant availability and affordances of social media offered the participants an outsider’s look at their own everyday lives: seeing their peers engaged with technology and not being able to do the same enabled them to assume a reflexive attitude, contributing to the making of a generation and offered a novel perspective on both individual and generational media use. As people are increasingly encouraged to resist and self-regulate in the context of pervasive media, self-reflexivity-heavy social media detoxes can be used as tools for building resilience and can even unfold to become a part of the generational glue itself.

With the further development of short-video sites through the social media ecosystem, user-generated content (UGC) has become the driving force of online communication. It is against this background that this research investigates the role of personality traits in the content creation behavior of the user. This paper treats extraversion as the central variable and, based on this, explores the influence of extraversion on the intention of the Douyin users to create UGC and adds self-presentation motivation to the model to determine whether this is a possible mediating variable. The information was gathered through the Wenjuanxing platform, which had 49 valid responses. They included descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, Pearson correlation analysis, and the mediation analysis based on the PROCESS macro. The findings reveal that extraversion has a strong positive correlation with UGC creation intention, implying that people who are more extraverted will be interested in producing short video content. Self-presentation motivation also has a positive relationship with UGC creation intention. Nonetheless, the extraversion and self-presentation motivation relationship was not significant and was thus not supported by the mediation value. On the whole, this research proves the direct effect of extraversion on the intention to create UGC and gives empirical data regarding the behavior as a creator of content based on personality on short-video services. The small mediating position of self-presentation motivation brings forward the necessity of further investigation to include other psychological reasons or differences in platforms.

Distractions are ubiquitous in today’s technology-saturated environments, an issue that significantly impacts learning contexts employing digital technologies and yields detrimental effects on learning. Digital self-control tools, which aim to assist users in their efforts to reduce digital distractions, are numerous and readily available. Despite several dedicated empirical studies focusing on specific tools, there remains a notable lack of information regarding their daily use and helpfulness. Furthermore, the sheer variety of these tools prompts questions about their universal helpfulness and the potential influence of individual differences.To address these issues, we surveyed a sample of higher-education students, totaling 273 individuals. These students reported on their media use, satisfaction with learning, and experiences with features of digital self-control tools. Our study’s findings indicate a discrepancy in the perception and awareness of these features; those deemed most helpful are among the least known, and conversely, common features are often perceived as unhelpful.Our research also uncovered a negative correlation between habitual media use and the use of less restrictive features. Another identified issue was constraints on the use of these tools for learning, as platforms often serve dual purposes for both education and entertainment. We delve into these practical problems and propose future research directions to further advance the understanding of digital self-control tools.

Doomscrolling refers to a unique media habit where social media users persistently attend to negative information in their newsfeeds about crises, disasters, and tragedies. Given the potential prevalence of this practice and its timely but chronic relevance for user experiences, political perceptions, well-being, and other outcomes, this project aimed to develop and validate a self-report measure of doomscrolling. Participant focus groups and an expert panel contributed to the refinement of an item bank, assessed in two survey studies for item structure, reliability, and construct validity. The item bank was tested with survey panelists across the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; OECD (N = 401) to develop a unidimensional, 15-item scale with good reliability. Doomscrolling was less prevalent than anticipated, but variable. Tests of validity with survey panelists (N = 502) indicated that doomscrolling can be considered a distinct concept, and that it was closely related to online vigilance, problematic use of the internet and social media, and fear of missing out (FOMO). Doomscrolling was also linked to passive social media use, habitual media use, anxiety, poor self-control, and several personality traits. Men, younger adults, and the political-engaged were more likely to engage in doomscrolling.

Doomscrolling refers to a unique media habit where social media users persistently attend to negative information in their newsfeeds about crises, disasters, and tragedies. Given the potential prevalence of this practice and its timely but chronic relevance for user experiences, political perceptions, well-being, and other outcomes, this project aimed to develop and validate a self-report measure of doomscrolling. Participant focus groups and an expert panel contributed to the refinement of an item bank, assessed in two survey studies for item structure, reliability, and construct validity. The item bank was tested with survey panelists across the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; OECD (N = 401) to develop a unidimensional, 15-item scale with good reliability. Doomscrolling was less prevalent than anticipated, but variable. Tests of validity with survey panelists (N = 502) indicated that doomscrolling can be considered a distinct concept, and that it was closely related to online vigilance, problematic use of the internet and social media, and fear of missing out (FOMO). Doomscrolling was also linked to passive social media use, habitual media use, anxiety, poor self-control, and several personality traits. Men, younger adults, and the political-engaged were more likely to engage in doomscrolling.

This article analyses how different generations’ everyday media habits—focusing on news media and social media—interrelate with media use during societal crises. It acknowledges that increasing digitalization and mobility are closely linked to fragmentation of media and individualization of media use, involving pronounced differences in generational media use. Ultimately, the future of journalism and media accessing carry much significance for the future of crisis communication. Different generations have formed distinct media habits, and their uses vary in different situations. Research has shown that in the specific event of a societal crisis, generations will turn to the media for information in different ways. This article builds on empirical analysis, focusing on how generations envision themselves turning to news media and social media during societal crises, depending on their everyday media habits. Theoretically it builds on the GC/MC model, a 2 × 2 matrix encompassing generation-centric (GC) and medium-centric (MC) approaches. This article gives special emphasis to habits and situational conditions. It presents a statistical analysis of nationally representative Swedish survey data from 2012. The findings show that habitual media use in everyday life strongly affects envisioned media use in crisis situations, more so than the distinct capabilities of the media and personal background characteristics.

Purpose- This paper dives into the engagement patterns exhibited on Instagram by two streaming heavyweights; Amazon Prime and Disney+. With ever-growing popularity among the younger generation, Instagram is vital for driving engagement in the social media ecosystem. Hence, it is crucial to understand what content posted by streaming services fosters engagement on this platform. Design/Methodology- A combined total of 230 Instagram posts appearing between January 14 and February 28, 2021, were extensively analyzed. The goal was to examine the post objectives, features, and emotional elements accompanying said posts that Amazon Prime and Disney+ uploaded. Special attention was paid to the number of likes on posts since it is a key metric in measuring engagement. Findings- Results indicate that, despite having fewer posts per day, Disney+ drove much more engagement in post likes and comments. The platform made extensive use of hashtags and entertaining content to engage audiences. However, Amazon Prime had a big absence of useful features like hashtags. It also relied heavily on third-party content, unlike Disney+, whose content primarily consists of original programming. Practical Implications- The novel findings have important implications for streaming services, social media practitioners, and researchers.

This study examined the role of gratifications sought (GS) and gratifications obtained (GO) in predicting dependency on network evening news programs and 60 Minutes. Correlational analyses for both network news programs and 60 Minutes showed GS to be most strongly correlated to corresponding GO and less strongly correlated to noncorresponding GO. For both network news programs and 60 Minutes, paired group t-tests showed that mean GS levels were lower than the mean GO levels for all corresponding gratification items except for two surveillance items. Considerable promise for an additive transactional model was seen in the hierarchical multiple regression analyses which showed the added influence of GO in predicting dependency on network news programs and 60 Minutes after the ordered effects of demographic variables, habitual media use, and GS had been controlled for.

Navigating and Leveraging Social Media

Tari Sekapur Sirih is an important cultural heritage from Jambi Province, embodying philosophical and symbolic values. However, young generations' understanding of this traditional dance remains limited. This study aims to analyze the use of digital information media as an educational tool to introduce and preserve Tari Sekapur Sirih among young audiences. Using a qualitative descriptive method with data collected through observation, interviews, questionnaires, and literature review, the research found that interactive and multimedia digital media effectively enhance young people's interest and understanding of the dance’s cultural significance. Digital media bridges the gap between traditional cultural heritage and modern technology, fostering pride and awareness of cultural preservation. The study recommends developing richer digital content and stronger collaboration among cultural communities, media developers, and educational institutions to optimize cultural education through digital technology.

IntroductionDigital participation might have great potential for the everyday lives of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Previous research suggests that children with ASD enjoy and favor usage of digital technologies. As informative research on this topic is still sparse, this paper makes a contribution toward a better understanding of media usage in children with ASD.MethodsParents of 15 boys aged 6 to 11 diagnosed with ASD in Germany were asked about their children's media usage. For comparison, parents of 78 typically developing (TD) children were surveyed online.ResultsStatistical analyses reveal no differences between boys with and without ASD in media use, frequency, and reasons for use. However, there is a significant group difference in parents' perceptions of difficulty of restricting their child's media use: Parents of children with ASD reported greater difficulties of restriction of their child's media use than parents of TD children.DiscussionDigital media is an integral part of the daily lives of children with ASD and has the potential to increase the social inclusion of people with ASD through digital participation.

Content Delivery Networks (CDN) and their globally dispersed caches host a myriad of User Generated Videos (UGV) to meet end-user requests with quality of service. To efficiently utilize the limited storage of the caches, it is imperative to improve the hit ratio of UGVs. In contrast to the traditional static content, UGV popularity is highly dynamic and dependent on end-user behavior. Therefore, we devise a novel popularity prediction model for UGV, using a hybrid regression model. Our hybrid regression model dynamically adapts the popularity of UGV that is built from a historical training dataset. We reduce error in predicting popularity by up to 14%, when compared to pure offline and online approaches, with a small increase in the execution time and memory overhead. Our novel popularity prediction model accounts for end- user behavior by considering the end-user video watch time and the number of shares for the UGVs. To improve cache performance in CDN, we employ a cache replacement strategy that leverages our popularity prediction model to efficiently evict the less popular UGVs for more popular content. We compare our novel cache replacement strategy with the traditional and state-of-the-art cache replacement strategies and show an increase in the average hit ratio of up to 74% and 7%, respectively, for UGVs with shortterm popularity.

Social media is one of the main networks for transgender people to find spaces for expression, activism, and community. The platforms, such as Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok, amplify transgender voices, raising awareness and advocacy. Social media is also a minefield of cyberbullies, misinformation, and discrimination. Even with its shortcomings, when deployed responsibly, it can do much to empower transgender individuals by encouraging visibility, acceptance, and chances to interact socially and professionally. In this study, an attempt has been made to understand the behavioural pattern of social media usage by transgender persons residing in selected districts of Bihar, namely Patna, Ara, Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur, and Purnea. To execute this study, a questionnaire, namely ‘The Social Media Use Scale: Development and Validation,’ has been used, under which there are four different scales, namely Image-Based Social Media Use, Comparison-Based Social Media Use, Belief-Based Social Media Use, and Consumption-Based Social Media Use. 330 responses have been taken into consideration. For analysis of the data, firstly, exploratory factor analysis has been done, followed by multiple linear regression analysis. The purpose of this study is to analyse the impact of different scales on the general social media usage by transgender persons. The results clarify that all the scales positively impact the general social media usage pattern of transgender people, with Consumption-Based Social Media Use having the greatest effect, followed by Comparison-Based Social Media Use. Belief-Based Social Media Use and Image-Based Social Media Use have smaller yet significant roles.