WeChat Moments Research Articles

Travel Posts on WeChat Moments: A Model for eWOM Effectiveness

The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate factors and boundary conditions that may affect the effectiveness of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) in influencing a consumer's travel decision-making behavior. The conceptual model was tested using data collected from Chinese WeChat users. An online survey generated 550 valid responses. Results show that eWOM content richness and perceived ease of use of the eWOM platform positively influence eWOM effectiveness, while the eWOM receiver expertise is negatively associated with eWOM effectiveness. In addition, a consumer's social interaction with others on the social media platform moderates the aforementioned relationships. Theoretical and managerial implications are elaborated.

Information avoidance behavior on social network sites: Information irrelevance, overload, and the moderating role of time pressure

Drawing on the stressor-strain-outcome framework, this study investigates how information irrelevance and overload induce social network fatigue, and the relationship of these variables to users’ information avoidance behavior. It also examines the conditions under which social network fatigue is more likely to be translated into information avoidance behavior. The analysis of data collected from 341 users of WeChat Moments suggests that information irrelevance directly leads to information avoidance behavior, and social media fatigue as a mediator partially mediates the impact of information overload on information avoidance behavior and fully mediates the impact of social overload on information avoidance behavior. Furthermore, time pressure strengthens the effect of social network fatigue on information avoidance behavior. This study fulfills the identified need for an in-depth investigation of actual discontinuous behavior in social network services (SNSs) by investigating information avoidance behavior and its antecedents. The findings provide SNSs providers with guidelines on how to manage users’ behavior so that they remain active users of the SNSs.

朋友圈为何设置三天可见？——短暂内容分享的影响因素与后效

朋友圈为何设置三天可见？——短暂内容分享的影响因素与后效

Moral obligation in online social interaction: Clicking the “like” button

Social media greatly facilitate online social interaction among friends, and user behavior in social interaction may be influenced by interpersonal relationships. While individuals sometimes do enjoy the content shared by friends, they may also feel that they have a moral obligation to like what their friends share. Drawing on the stimulus-organism-response model, this paper examines whether the characteristics of interpersonal relationships are associated with moral obligation as well as whether moral obligation is associated with “like” intention. By using data from 348 users of WeChat Moments, we provide empirical evidence that the stimuli of interpersonal relationships (perceived authority, perceived closeness, and peer referent) are positively associated with the sense of moral obligation, which in turn, is positively associated with user intention to click the Like button on their friends’ postings on social media. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Body image flexibility moderates the association between photo-related activities on WeChat moments and the body dissatisfaction of female adolescents in China

Based on the background of current information era and the important role of body image in the health and well-being of female adolescents, this study aimed to investigate the moderating role of body image flexibility on the association between photo-related activities on SNS (social networking site) and body dissatisfaction among female adolescents in China. A total of 646 female adolescents were recruited to complete a set of questionnaires concerning the photo-related activities on WeChat Moments (the most widely used SNS in China), body image flexibility, and body dissatisfaction. The results showed that photo-related activities were positively associated with body dissatisfaction, and body image flexibility could significantly moderate this association, with a more significant effect for individuals with low levels of body image flexibility. This study not only contributes Chinese data and findings to this research theme, but also deepens our understanding by investigating the moderating mechanism; the results were also discussed in terms of limitations and implications.

Information-Sharing Behavior on WeChat Moments: The Role of Anonymity, Familiarity, and Intrinsic Motivation.

Information-sharing behavior is affected by identity recognition perception. The current study aims to delve into the impact of familiarity and anonymity on information-sharing behavior, and the mediating role of intrinsic motivations on WeChat Moments. We hypothesized a mediator role of intrinsic motivations in the relationship between an individual’s perceptions and information sharing. Based on the self-determination theory, a model was created and tested using a sample of 531 frequent users. In this study, these users were asked to use WeChat Moments, the most popular mobile private social networking site in China. The results demonstrate the significance of familiarity and identifiability in an interpersonal relationship, when using social networking sites. Moreover, the influence of perceived anonymity on information-sharing behavior, which is entirely mediated by intrinsic motivation has been validated from an empirical perspective. Our findings extend previous studies by showing the totally mediated effect of perceived anonymity on information-sharing behavior on WeChat Moments and the influential mechanism of intrinsic motivation. The results will inform researchers about the importance of incorporating the interpersonal structural features and intrinsic motivation of social networking sites into future studies on online information-sharing behavior. Important ways to promote attention and share information involve building a familiar relationship with communities and equipping oneself with off-line relations. Final indications for future developments are provided, with a special emphasis on the development of these findings in various social networking sites contexts.

“Internet + Community”

After the implementation of complete credit system, colleges gradually lead the class students to individualization, which is consistent with the characteristics of individualization in the Internet age. And the trend of “Internet community” constructed by Internet, from the earlier micro-blog to the current WeChat group or Moments, also provides us with new ideas on how to carry out values education for "individualized" college students under the complete credit system. The promotion of complete credit system in colleges and the trend of the "Internet community" enable colleges to effectively carry out values education of college students through a new way. Hence, colleges should, on one hand, pay more attention to the implicit education, understand and master the dissemination rules of the network platform, as well as utilize the new carrier of values education innovatively. On the other hand, colleges are also encouraged to construct the "Internet community" type education mode from the three dimensions of perfecting the community structure, adjusting the group mentality and emphasizing the guidance of public opinion.

WeChat-based teaching for an immersion cultural exchange program \u2013 a case study in CFL

This paper reports on an exploratory study investigating WeChat-based learning efficiency in teaching Chinese as a foreign language (CFL). Generated from the Connectivism theory, this study aims at exploring the features of mobile-assisted teaching in an immersion CFL exchange program with the social communication app WeChat as a case in point. WeChat is a multimedia instant messenger application in China. In this two-year-long study, an action study was applied. A total of ten learners of elementary Chinese were involved. The participants received and submitted the assignment via WeChat and were asked to review language points on the weekly course posts. Their posts on WeChat Moments were recorded and then reconstructed into language learning content. This study adopted a mixed-method design. Data were collected through the course learning outcomes, an end-of-semester questionnaire, and follow-up interviews. The results show a positive reception from the learners on WeChat-based learning. This study observes (1) students’ evident linguistic development in the spontaneous expression on WeChat; (2) a substantial change toward learning with social media; (3) conscious and unconscious language input and output. Language learners reported that using WeChat (1) provided them with a better opportunity to communicate with native speakers; (2) enabled them to integrate knowledge into life; (3) helped them review class content and share thoughts more efficiently; (4) offered them a long-term supportive Chinese language community.However, the results also indicate that (1) personal preference to social media should be taken into consideration; (2) WeChat fails to foster autonomous learning in the students; (3) students’ participation and motivation declined towards the end of the program. In retrospect, monitoring and supervising WeChat usage when necessary, assigning the topics of the posts, and inspiring interest in learning language by solving real-life problems are recommended.

Can data-driven precision marketing promote user ad clicks? Evidence from advertising in WeChat moments

Data-driven precision marketing (e.g. personalized online ads based on big data analysis or optimal personalized recommendation algorithms) has been regarded as a crucial way for manufacturers to improve the marketing effect. However, the current studies leave much to be further explored. This study constructed a conceptual model based on cue utilization theory focusing on the effects of consumer perceptions to the personalized online ads on click-through intention. Empirical results based on data from a survey of 446 WeChat moments users in China showed that: (1) consumer's ad click-through intention increased as a result of employing a higher extent of product involvement, brand familiarity, visual attractiveness and information quality to consumer; (2) trust played a role of mediation in the processes of visual attractiveness and information quality affecting click-through intention; (3) the higher product involvement also stimulated the consumer's privacy concerns, which played negative moderating effects on the positive impacts of product involvement, brand familiarity and trust on click-through intention. The findings contributed to the precision marketing literature by enriching an understanding of psychological mechanism underlying consumers' perception and cognitive factors toward the personalized online ads.

Offline versus online travel experience sharing: the national profile of China

PurposeThis study aims to examine the demographic differences of Chinese nationals’ travel experience sharing through different offline and online platforms.Design/methodology/approachCross-tabulation analysis was applied on a national sample of 6081 respondents in China.FindingsThe study found that Chinese women tend to share travel experience more often than Chinese men; old people in China tend to use the face-to-face approach more than online or social media to share their travel experience. About 66.5 per cent of the survey sample used WeChat Moments to share their travel experience, highlighting WeChat as the dominating social media platform in China for travel sharing. In general, people who share via online platforms (WeChat, Weibo, QQ Space) tend to be young, single or unmarried, well-educated and earning a high monthly income.Originality/valueThe study offers an in-depth understanding of travel experience sharing idiosyncrasies in China.

Selfie-Posting and Young Adult Women’s Restrained Eating: The Role of Commentary on Appearance and Self-Objectification

Considering the prevalence of social networking sites (SNSs) and restrained eating among young adult women, the present study aimed to investigate the association between selfie-posting on an SNS (WeChat Moments, the most widely used SNS in China) and self-objectification among Chinese young adult women as well as the mediating effects of commentary on appearance and self-objectification from the perspective of self-perception theory and objectification theory. A sample of 886 female undergraduate students who had an active WeChat Moments account were recruited voluntarily to complete questionnaires on selfie-posting on SNS, general SNS use, commentary on appearance on SNSs, self-objectification, and restrained eating. The results indicated that after controlling for general SNS use, age, and BMI, selfie-posting on a SNS was positively associated with restrained eating. Commentary on appearance and self-objectification mediated this association, which contained three mediating paths: the separate mediating effects of commentary on appearance and self-objectification and the serial mediating effect of commentary on appearance and self-objectification. These results indicate that selfie-posting and commentary on appearance on a SNS rather than general SNS use are risk factors accounting for restrained eating, which has theoretical and practical implications in terms of SNS use and restrained eating.

Self-Affirmation through WeChat Moments

Self-affirmation is helpful for reducing the individual’s defensive response to threats, harvesting and growing from threatening but valuable information. This study examines whether viewing personal WeChat moments is self-affirmative. Browsing WeChat moments of other people that better than yourself will lead to an upward social comparison, but the effect of browsing your own moments is rarely discussed. This study conducts an experiment, and the result proves that browsing WeChat moments is an effective self-affirmation intervention paradigm. The self-affirmation paradigm which is close to daily life deserves further promotion and research.

Social attachment, life satisfaction and SNS continuance: a dual-role perspective

As the sustainability of social networking sites (SNS for short) heavily relies on the content generated by users, it is important to understand the factors driving users' continuous participation. Considering that SNS has permeated almost every facet of people's lives, this study proposes to understand SNS continuance from the life-oriented perspective beyond the technology-oriented perspective. Further, due to the social nature of SNS, we propose to understand the antecedents of life satisfaction by considering the dual role of social attachment. It is posited to directly enhance individuals' life satisfaction and negatively influence life satisfaction through the mediating effect of envy. An online survey among WeChat Moments users in China was conducted to validate the proposed research model and hypotheses. The data analysis results based on partial least squares approach confirm all the hypotheses.

Social Attachment, Life Satisfaction, and SNS Continuance: A Dual-Role Perspective

As the sustainability of social networking sites (SNS for short) heavily relies on the content generated by users, it is important to understand the factors driving users' continuous participation. Considering that SNS has permeated almost every facet of people's lives, this study proposes to understand SNS continuance from the life-oriented perspective beyond the technology-oriented perspective. Further, due to the social nature of SNS, we propose to understand the antecedents of life satisfaction by considering the dual role of social attachment. It is posited to directly enhance individuals' life satisfaction and negatively influence life satisfaction through the mediating effect of envy. An online survey among WeChat Moments users in China was conducted to validate the proposed research model and hypotheses. The data analysis results based on partial least squares approach confirm all the hypotheses.

Understanding Motivations behind Inaccurate Check-ins

Check-in data from social networks provide researchers a unique opportunity to model human dynamics at scale. However, it is unclear how indicative these check-in traces are of real human mobility. Prior work showed that significant amounts of Foursquare check-ins did not match with the physical mobility patterns of users, and suggested that misrepresented check-ins were incentivized by external rewards provided by the system. In this paper, our goal is to understand the root cause of inaccurate check-in data, by studying the validity of check-in traces in social media platforms without external rewards for check-ins. We conduct a data-driven analysis using an empirical check-in data trace of more than 276,000 users from WeChat Moments, with matching traces of their physical mobility. We develop a set of hypotheses on the underlying motivations behind people's inaccurate check-ins, and validate them using a detailed survey study. Our analysis reveals that there are surprisingly high amount of inaccurate check-ins even in the absence of rewards: 43% of total check-ins are inaccurate and 61% of survey participants report they have misrepresented their check-ins. We also find that inaccurate check-ins are often a result of user interface design as well as for convenience, self-advertisement and self-presentation.

Building Guanxi network in the mobile social platform: A social capital perspective

Mobile social platform such as WeChat Moments has gained great popularity in China in the past few years. However, there are still a lack of studies that focus on Guanxi network building in the virtual social community. Drawing upon social capital theory and technology affordance theory, this study develops a research model to examine the influences of platform media richness and interactivity on users’ social capital and participation behaviors in the WeChat Moments. An empirical survey was conducted in China and 287 valid data were collected from WeChat users. Structural equation modelling analysis was used to test the research model. The empirical results suggest that platform interactivity and media richness are significant technology affordances that promote users’ Guanxi network, and their influences are mediated by social interaction and shared understanding. Furthermore, Guanxi network is positively associated with users’ active participation in the WeChat Moments. Theoretical and practical implications are illustrated in the final section.

Social media environments effect on perceived interactivity

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to treat WeChat moments as social media environments and applies the research model to explore the effect of social media environments on perceived interactivity from the perspective of environmental psychology.Design/methodology/approachThis paper proposes social media environments as effective stimuli for future participate in online social interactions. First, two cues of social media environments (user-to-system cues and user-to-user cues) can be important antecedents of users’ perception of interactivity. Second, users’ intention of future participates in online social interactions can be influenced by three dimensions of perceived interactivity (action control, connectedness and responsiveness). Using data from 334 users of WeChat moments, the authors conduct partial least squares analysis to validate the research model.FindingsThe results indicate that both technological and social environments positively affect three dimensions of perceived interactivity, respectively, including action control, connectedness and responsiveness. Moreover, actual findings also suggest that higher perceived interactivity increases users’ intention of future participate in online social interactions.Originality/valueThis work contributes to in-depth research on the relationships between social environments and perceived interactivity. Besides, this paper demonstrates that both technological and social cues of social media environments are significant elements in simulating users’ internal experience and behavioral intention. The main conclusions of this study can be valuable to social media developers and managers.

"Distant" Pictures Benefit Emotion Regulation in Emotion Disclosure on WeChat Moments.

The present study was conducted to answer a single question: What is the role of picture-posting activities on social networking sites in emotion regulation? Across three studies, we find evidence suggesting that posting "psychologically distant" pictures is related to online negative emotional disclosure and could be a strategy for reducing negative affect by promoting cognitive reappraisal. We discuss important theoretical and practical implications of our study.

Mobile Social Big Data: WeChat Moments Dataset, Network Applications, and Opportunities

In parallel with the increase of various mobile technologies, the MSN service has brought us into an era of mobile social big data, where people are creating new social data every second and everywhere. It is of vital importance for businesses, governments, and institutions to understand how peoples' behaviors in the online cyberspace can affect the underlying computer network, or their offline behaviors at large. To study this problem, we collect a dataset from WeChat Moments, called WeChatNet, which involves 25,133,330 WeChat users with 246,369,415 records of link reposting on their pages. We revisit three network applications based on the data analytics over WeChatNet, i.e., the information dissemination in mobile cellular networks, the network traffic prediction in backbone networks, and the mobile population distribution projection. We also discuss the potential research opportunities for developing new applications using the released dataset.

WeChat Moments use and self-esteem among Chinese adults: The mediating roles of personal power and social acceptance and the moderating roles of gender and age

The present study examined whether and how specific use behaviors of WeChat Moments, the most popular social network site (SNS) in China, relate to users' self-esteem. Three hundred and twenty-five Chinese adults (53.85% female; Mage = 32.67, SD = 7.70) completed online measures of WeChat Moments use behaviors, personal power, social acceptance, and self-esteem. We found that WeChat Moments use intensity and received likes are positively associated with self-esteem, whereas status updates are negatively associated with self-esteem. We found further that personal power and social acceptance mediate the associations of WeChat Moments use intensity and received likes with individuals' self-esteem. Moreover, gender and age emerged as significant moderators. The current study provides evidence for the association between WeChat Moments use and self-esteem among Chinese adults and contributes to the literature by clarifying the equivocal findings, as well as uncovering the underlying mechanisms of the relationship between SNSs use and self-esteem.