Shared Experience of Social TV and Its Effects on the Intention to Use

Abstract

Since the advent of the television (TV) era, there have been debates about how these new forms of media affect peoples lives and social interactions. There are similar debates around new forms of internet media such as social network sites (SNS) and instant messaging (IM). As a response, these media are attempting to emulate offline interactions by adopting various new features. Video-chat, for instance, is such an attempt, and it emulates offline interactions in that it has most of the non-verbal cues that are usually in face-to-face interaction. More recently, they are trying to let users share not just thoughts or feelings, but experiences, such as watching movies or sports games, as well. With the advent of social TV, an interactive platform for sharing the experience of watching videos, and with the virtual reality (VR) SNS on the horizon, it is time that we examine whether these attempts can be meaningful or not. Sharing of experience matters. Boothby et al. (2014) have found that sharing an experience, such as eating chocolate together, can amplify the emotional response to the experience, and increase enjoyment, feeling of absorption (flow), and the sense of similarity toward the other person. Also, previous studies that analyzed the use of SNS with technology acceptance model (TAM) have found that perceived enjoyment and flow experience can positively affect the users intention to use the media, while perceived similarity can increase social attraction toward the others. Drawing upon these studies, this study aimed to find out about the effects of shared experience through online interactive media such as social TV. More specifically, the study examined whether shared experience through social TV or SNS video-sharing has positive effects on perceived similarity, perceived enjoyment, and flow experience. Then, the effects of perceived enjoyment and flow experience on intention to use were checked, as well as the effect of perceived similarity on social attraction. Additionally, possible moderation of effects of shared experience by social presence and psychological distance was also checked. For this analysis, an online survey was conducted on 343 users (N = 343) of SNS video-sharing and social TV. Then, the research model was analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) in R software. The relationships between shared experience and perceived similarity, perceived enjoyment, and flow experience turned out to be significant, also the effects of perceived similarity on social attraction and the effects of perceived enjoyment and flow experience on intention to use were significant as well. Thus, all six of main hypotheses were supported. However, the hypotheses on the moderating effects of social presence and psychological distance were not supported. All the main hypotheses were supported by the data, and the hypotheses supported in this study have some meaningful implications for users and the social media companies. First, users will be able to benefit from using social TV because it not only enhances their enjoyment and flow experience, but also increases social attraction toward other users, which can lead to favorable social relationships. On the other hand, businesses will also benefit because the social features of social TV will make the users more willing to consume their media contents. Finally, even though the moderating effects of social presence and psychological distance were not supported in this study, more research should be conducted on other possible moderating effects, in order to get more detailed insights on the direction of future development efforts regarding social TV and similar media.