A social identity perspective on the effect of social information on online video enjoyment

Abstract

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.

Keywords

• social information
• user comments
• enjoyment
• social identification
• information source