Passive exposure to others’ positive self-presentations on social network sites (SNS) such as Instagram has been repeatedly associated with reduced well-being, particularly by triggering upward social comparison and envy. However, prior research has largely neglected that upward comparisons on SNS may also facilitate positive outcomes, specifically media-induced inspiration, a motivational state highly conducive to well-being. We conducted two experiments that tested whether and how cognitive-affective processing of visual SNS postings results in inspiration. Study 1 (N = 270) provides first evidence that users react to more positive, optimized Instagram nature and travel posts with stronger upward comparison, which facilitates inspiration via an assimilative emotional reaction (benign envy), thus enhancing well-being. The preregistered Study 2 (N = 408) replicates these findings. Overall, results indicate that users can be inspired from comparing upwards on SNS, which may briefly improve their well-being. We discuss boundary conditions and implications for future communication research.

Digital games have evolved into a medium that moves beyond basic toys for distraction and pleasure towards platforms capable of and effective at instigating more serious, emotional, and intrapersonal experiences. Along with this evolution, games research has also started to consider more deeply affective and cognitive reactions that resemble the broad notion of eudaimonia, with work already being done in communication studies and media psychology as well as in human–computer interaction. These studies offer a large variety of concepts to describe such eudaimonic reactions—including eudaimonia, meaningfulness, appreciation, and self-transcendence—which are frequently used as synonyms as they represent aspects not captured by the traditional hedonic focus on enjoyment. However, these concepts are potentially confusing to work with as they might represent phenomenological distinct experiences. In this scoping review, we survey 82 publications to identify different concepts used in digital gaming research to represent eudaimonia and map out how these concepts relate to each other. The results of this scoping review revealed four broad conceptual patterns: (1) appreciation as an overarching (yet imprecise) eudaimonic outcome of playing digital games; (2) covariation among meaningful, emotionally moving/challenging, and self-reflective experiences; (3) the unique potential of digital games to afford eudaimonic social connectedness; and (4) other eudaimonia-related concepts (e.g., nostalgia, well-being, elevation). This review provides a conceptual map of the current research landscape on eudaimonic game entertainment experiences and outlines recommendations for future scholarship, including how a focus on digital games contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of eudaimonic media experiences broadly.

Media psychological research has identified a broad range of gratifications that can result from playing digital games and fuel players' entertainment experiences. Most of these studies focused on pleasurable, hedonic entertainment experiences (i.e., enjoyment). However, scholarship increasingly acknowledges that digital games can also offer more profound (eudaimonic) entertainment experiences, characterized by the feeling of being moved and the experience of meaningfulness (i.e., appreciation). Knowledge about the antecedents of this form of digital game entertainment experiences is still sparse; thus, the present study investigates the role of well-established gaming gratifications for the emergence of both enjoyment and appreciation. In addition, trait-like preferences for eudaimonic and hedonic entertainment (i.e., entertainment motivations) are investigated as possible antecedents of players' entertainment experiences. Empirically, the study builds on a 2-wave online survey of U.S. players of the action-roleplaying game Mass Effect: Andromeda (n ϭ 1,074). The findings show that obtained gaming-specific gratifications are closely related to players' enjoyment but also to their appreciation of the game. In contrast, trait-like entertainment motivations only exert a small influence on both entertainment experiences. Implications for theorizing and investigating gaming entertainment experiences are discussed. Public Policy Relevance StatementEntertainment research has shown that various gratifications can be obtained from playing digital games. The present study shows that they not only play a substantial role for users' enjoyment of a game but also explain the emergence of more fundamental entertainment experiences associated with experiencing meaning and the feeling of being moved. These findings help us to understand why digital games not only are a pleasurable pastime but also provide meaningful and insightful experiences.

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Video games have inspired substantial activity in past entertainment research. Based on an analysis of the core characteristics of this highly popular medium (agency, narrative, aesthetics, and sociality) that are all uniquely shaped by interactivity, we propose a multiprocess model that can explain the great majority of gamers’ hedonic and eudaimonic entertainment experiences. These key processes are (1) agentic experience of effectance and competence, (2) cycles of suspense and performance-driven relief, (3) escapist and meaningful self-transformation, (4) connectedness with virtual and real others, and (5) other-praising emotions from narrative-aesthetic appeal. Temporal shifts of salience and importance for the overall experience and synergistic interactions among processes are suggested to explain both the enduring motivation of many gamers and the strong, robust, and reliable capacity of games to facilitate “some” or even “great” entertainment.