No abstract

Recent experiments showed that the valence of user comments (i.e., social information) presented alongside online videos can alter viewers' enjoyment of videos. However, it is unclear how much attention video viewers pay to social information and whether the effects found in previous studies occur if participants are not forced to view the social information. Therefore, this study investigated how the valence of social information presented alongside online videos affects viewers' enjoyment when viewers are free to determine whether and how much attention they pay to social information. Using an eye tracker, we found that most video viewers pay attention to social information which then elicits a valence effect on their enjoyment. Results also showed that a negativity bias occurred: Participants paid most attention to negative social information. Accordingly, the effect of social information on enjoyment was stronger for negative social information. This study is the first to show that social information of online videos affects the experiences of video viewers in settings where viewers are in charge of how much attention they pay to social information.On social media platforms, users are not only exposed to content created by professional content providers, they are also exposed to content created by average users, notably, to evaluative information in the form of comments and (dis)likes. This evaluative information is referred to as social information.

On YouTube, videos are always presented together with additional user-generated information about those videos. This social information is presented in the form of number of views, (dis)likes, or comments. However, we know little about the characteristics of social information about entertainment videos. To fill this gap, the present study examined the amount and valence of online entertainment videos' social information and compared this to the social information of online political videos. An automated content analysis of (dis)likes, views, and 39,602 comments presented alongside 463 videos showed that entertainment videos received more views and comments than political videos. Moreover, entertainment videos' comments were more neutral than political videos' comments. We also found that comments with a stronger positive or negative valence received more replies and likes, with the exception that the positive valence of political videos had no effect. Finally, we found that as political videos received more comments, the positive valence of their comments became more consistent. Overall, these results show that the type of video influences the amount and valence of social information the video receives.

To date, videos are often presented on social media platforms where they are accompanied by social information in the form of user comments. Research suggests that this social information can alter viewers’ video enjoyment. The present study aimed to learn more about two factors that may enhance this effect by conducting a 2x2 between-subjects experiment with a control group (N = 290, Mage = 20.82, SDage = 2.49) in the Netherlands. First, we investigated the role that the source of social information (i.e., in-group vs. out-group) plays in the effect of social information. Second, we explored how writing a comment while watching a video (i.e., commenting vs. no commenting) may alter the effect of the source of social information. Results indicated that social information created by in-group members is more influential than social information created by out-group members. However, writing a comment did not increase viewers’ susceptibility to the effects of social information. These results are discussed in light of the social identity framework, leading to new insights into what may bolster the effect of social information on video enjoyment when individuals watch videos presented on social media.

Online video platforms often present videos together with social information in the form of user comments and likes. This study tested two hypotheses about how this merger of mass and interpersonal communication on online video platforms shapes viewers’ evaluations and enjoyment of online videos. Whereas the judgement effect hypothesis states that social information alters viewers’ video evaluations, the processing effect hypothesis poses that it influences viewers’ enjoyment while they are watching videos. Using real-time response measures, this experiment pitted both hypotheses against each other. The results indicate that if viewers are exposed to social information before watching a video, a processing effect emerges on their enjoyment as they are watching. If viewers are exposed to social information after watching a video, a judgement effect on their retrospective video enjoyment occurs but not on their video evaluations. These new insights advance our understanding of how social information affects video viewers.