Scrolling to apathy? The relationship between short video addiction and the "lying flat" tendency among Chinese university students
Xu J, Ismail A, Ramayah T, Liew CW, Zheng C
Frontiers in psychology · 1 citation
How it was studied
- Design
- Cross-sectional study (classified by our AI screen)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- No health outcome
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Independent funding
Based on full-text disclosure statement.
Publication
- Published
- 2026-02-27 · Front Psychol · vol. 17 · p. 1685559
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media
- Cited
- 3 citations · more than 100% of similar papers · 39.0× the field average
- Impact
- Top 10% most cited in its field
- References
- 55 works
- Access
- Open access (journal) · CC-BY
- Research areas
- Flow Experience in Various Fields · Impact of Technology on Adolescents · Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts
- Keywords
- short video addiction, lying flat, university students, flow experience, peer influence, self-efficacy, social cognitive theory, psychological well-being, Chinese youth
5 authors
From CN, MY, IN, JO, BD, OM
- Jie Xu · correspondingChaohu University; Northern University of Malaysia
- Adibah Binti IsmailNorthern University of Malaysia
- Thurasamy RamayahChandigarh University; University of Jordan; Universiti Sains Malaysia; Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation; Daffodil International University; Sohar University; Sunway University
- Christine Wan Shean LiewMonash University Malaysia
- Chuan ZhengLuzhou Vocational and Technical College; Northern University of Malaysia
Abstract
Background
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.
Objective
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.
Methods
An online survey was administered to Chinese university students, yielding 486 valid responses. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM).
Results
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.
Conclusion
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.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher (CC BY).
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