Exploring Stress and Problematic Use of Short-Form Video Applications among Middle-Aged Chinese Adults: The Mediating Roles of Duration of Use and Flow Experience

Qing Huang, Mingxin Hu and Hongliang Chen
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Qing Huang: College of Media and International Culture, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Mingxin Hu: College of Media and International Culture, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Hongliang Chen: College of Media and International Culture, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 19, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: The pervasiveness of smartphones and the popularity of short-form video applications (SVAs), such as TikTok, among middle-aged Chinese adults have raised concerns about problematic SVAs use. Although a plethora of research has examined problematic smartphone use among teenagers and young adults, scarce attention has been paid to the middle-aged group. This study integrates the psychopathological approach and the compensatory use approach to explicate problematic SVAs use among middle-aged Chinese adults. We aim to examine the relationship between stress and problematic SVAs use via the mediating roles of duration of use and flow experience. A total of 194 middle-aged adults from across the nation participated in an online survey. The results showed that stress was positively associated with problematic SVAs use. We also found that duration of use positively mediated the relationship between stress and problematic SVAs use. Furthermore, a serial mediation effect of duration of use and flow experience was found. The findings suggest that the aforementioned two approaches are complementary to each other in explicating problematic SVAs use, but the compensatory use approach explains more than the psychopathological approach does. Flow experience extends the original compensatory use approach and demonstrates the importance of incorporating techno-psychological predictors in understanding problematic SVAs use.

Keywords: stress; duration of use; flow experience; problematic SVAs use; serial mediation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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