Scrolling to apathy? The relationship between short video addiction and the “lying flat” tendency among Chinese university students

TL;DR

This study explores how addiction to short videos may contribute to a disengaged lifestyle among Chinese university students.

Contribution

It introduces a psychological model linking short video addiction to the 'lying flat' tendency through mechanisms like flow and peer influence.

Findings

Short video addiction is positively associated with the 'lying flat' tendency.

Flow experience, platform attachment, and peer influence increase short video addiction, which in turn promotes disengagement.

Self-efficacy does not moderate the relationship between short video addiction and disengagement.

Abstract

The increasing prevalence of short video platforms among Chinese university students has raised concerns about their potential threat to psychological well-being and lifestyle choices, particularly the emergence of the “lying flat” phenomenon. While existing studies have explained the “lying flat” phenomenon from cultural and social perspectives, few have examined its interaction with specific media use behaviors, particularly within the immersive and addictive environment of short video platforms.

Based on the social cognitive theory, this study investigated the psychological mechanisms underlying this phenomenon, focusing on the mediating role of short video addiction in the relationship between flow experience, platform attachment, and peer influence, as well as the moderating role of self-efficacy.

An online survey was administered to Chinese university students, yielding 486 valid responses. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM).

The results indicate that higher levels of short video addiction are associated with a greater tendency to adopt a “lying flat” attitude. Flow experience, platform attachment, and peer influence contributed to increased short video addiction, which mediated their indirect effects on the “lying flat” tendencies. However, the interaction effect between self-efficacy and SV addiction does not significantly predict lying flat tendency.

These findings provide new insights into how digital media use influences youth lifestyle disengagement and offer practical implications for managing SV addiction among university students.

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