ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Media Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1584685
Parasocial Interaction and Problematic Use of Short-Form Video Applications: Unveiling the Mediating Mechanism
Provisionally accepted
- 1College of Media and International Culture, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
- 2International Communication Institute, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- 3Department of Communications and New Media, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
- 4HSBC Business School, Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University, Shenzhen, China
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Problematic use of short-form video applications (SVA) has posed significant challenges to individuals' wellbeing in recent years. This study examines how parasocial interaction -a one-sided and imagined emotional engagement with vloggerscontributes to problematic SVA use. Based on the socio-psychological perspective and informed by the positive reinforcement and compensatory use approaches, the research explores how flow experience and fear of missing out mediate this association. Results of an online survey support the mediation model, indicating that the reinforcement of positive feelings and the compensatory motivation for alleviating negative emotions jointly lead to the problematic behaviors. The findings offer valuable insights into the socio-psychological processes underlying problematic SVA use and suggest potential intervention strategies to promote healthy usage of SVA.
Keywords: Parasocial interaction, Flow, Fear of missing out, problematic use of short-form video applications, mediation effect
Received: 27 Feb 2025; Accepted: 24 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Huang, Lei and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Zhuo Chen, HSBC Business School, Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University, Shenzhen, China
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