Keep scrolling: An investigation of short video users’ continuous watching behavior

Short video platforms have become increasingly popular in recent years. Their success relies heavily on users’ continuous watching and advertising revenues. However, the factors that drive users’ continuous watching behavior are still unclear, and the potential influence of advertising on users’ continuous watching is largely neglected. Drawing upon the theory of consumption values (TCV) and the cognitive–affective–behavior (CAB) model, this study explores the factors influencing consumers’ continuous watching intentions from both cognitive and affective perspectives. We employed an exploratory mixed-methods study approach. Focus group discussions among 25 short video users were first conducted to identify five short video consumption values and develop the questionnaire. Then the survey was distributed to 584 short video users in China to obtain quantitative data for analysis using structural equation modeling. The results show that continuous watching intention is determined by affective factors of satisfaction and dependence, and affective factors are influenced by cognitive consumption values. Moreover, advertising irritation weakened the influence of satisfaction on continuous watching intention. Our study established and empirically verified a new cognitive and affective model to explain short video consumers’ behavior. The findings could help short video creators and platforms cultivate customers’ continuous watching by concentrating on the specific cognitive and affective factors, and provide guidance on balancing between users’ continuous watching and advertising revenue.