With the advent of cross-platform environment, users come to use video contents via TV, mobile media, and computer. This study looks at how video contents experience differs depending on the media according to the flow theory. In the first place, this...
With the advent of cross-platform environment, users come to use video contents via TV, mobile media, and computer. This study looks at how video contents experience differs depending on the media according to the flow theory. In the first place, this study looks at self-determination as a preceding variable of flow experience. Self-determination refers to the technology, knowledge, and belief that enables individuals to adjust, control, or liberalize their behaviors.
Self-determination theory maintains that an understanding of human motivation requires a consideration of innate psychological needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness. In other words, in terms of the use of video contents, self-determination means the degree of autonomy, competence, and relatedness that are recognized by users when using video contents. Autonomy refers to the degree that users recognize that they can select video contents as much as they want and use them; competence indicates the degree that users believe that they can utilize video contents on their own; and relatedness means the degree that users believe that they can form a relationship with other people and maintain such a relationship by having feeling of homogeneity with acquaintances who use video contents and feeling sympathy with people who use video contents and experience watching them.
This study measures the video contents flow experience with such experiences as focused attention, playfulness, and time distortion in users who use video contents. In addition, this study looks at the impact of flow experience on the intention to reuse video contents, habitual use, and emotion regulation as intrinsic motivation factors for using video contents.
In a pre-test, this study verifies the reliability of questionnaire items and then carries out a questionnaire survey of 382 college students. As a result, the relation between self-determination and flow experience, the relation between self-determination and flow experience, the relation between flow and emotional regulation, and the relation between flow and intention to reuse appeared significant in TV, mobile media, and computer. The existing discussions related to flow have been applied into active leisure activities such as tourism and sports. In other words, only a few of researches have been carried out on the use of video contents which had been considered as relatively passive leisure activities since the flow experience has been considered as the result of assertive behavior.
However, this study is based on the premise that users are required to actively participate in using and selecting video contents as much as they are given a wider choice in using video contents. As a result, it is found that users experience flow in all processes of using video contents through TV, mobile media, and computer. This suggests that users can experience flow itself through the video contents-using behavior, although the characteristics of media is important. This shows that users need to actively participate in using video contents, unlike the existing discussions that had considered the video contents-using behavior as passive leisure activity.
On the other hand, skills and challenges have been discussed as major preceding variables influencing flow experience. But, when comparing with internet games largely discussed in the flow researches, such skills and challenges are not specifically required in using video contents. Accordingly, this study reflects the changes in media environment such as characteristics of video contents-using behaviors and increased selectivity of users and looks at the impact of self-determination on the flow experience in using video contents. As a result, it is found that self-determination had an impact on flow experience in TV, mobile media, and computer. In other words, this study is theoretically significant in that it verified the relation between self-determination and flow experience.
Finally, this study compares TV, mobile media, and computer to look at the difference depending on media type and presents comprehensive discussions beyond the existing researches that investigated the video contents-using behaviors through a single medium. In addition, this study is significant in that it verified the effects of alternative attractiveness influenced by each media.