Article Preview
TopIntroduction
Entertainment media have been the channels through which audiences expose, engage, empathize, and experience psychological effects intentionally or unintentionally. Recent development in entertainment media encompasses not only hedonic content but inspirational messages that change people’s lives. Eudaimonic media channels in the digital environment afford the accessibility, diversity, and volume of meaningful and self-transcendent narratives. Users readily encounter inspirational content on social media and are affected by them for psychological needs (Oltra, Camarero, & San José Cabezudo, 2022; Rieger & Klimmt, 2019). Eudaimonic media can be broadly defined as media narratives that enhance an individual’s reflection on life meaning, virtue, value, purpose, and potential for coping and well-being (Dale, Raney, Janicke, Sanders, & Oliver, 2017; Ott, Tan, & Slater, 2021).
Audiences’ frequent eudaimonic media experiences have ignited increased research attempts on their effects. From movies and television (Londoño-Proaño, 2022; Weinmann, Schneider, Roth, Bindl, & Vorderer, 2016) to the Internet to social media (Dale et al., 2020; Williams, & Krisjanous, 2023), how specific portrayals are responsible for self-transcendent emotional reactions has been conducted (Dale et al., 2017; Rieger & Klimmt, 2019). Social media posts were inspirational for users in kindness and overcoming obstacles (Dale et al., 2020). Some scenes of self-sacrifice and nostalgia produced self-affirmation and self-transcendence (Watts, Bonus, & Wing, 2020). Other recent studies have examined the influence of eudaimonic narratives on moral engagement (e.g., Tsay-Vogel & Krakowiak, 2016), user comments on inspirational narratives (e.g., Möller & Kühne, 2019), eudaimonic media format on evaluations (e.g., Weinmann et al., 2016), person-specific inspiration (Valkenburg, Beyens, Pouwels, Driel, & Keijsers, 2022), and cross-cultural motivations of inspirational entertainment consumption (e.g., Odağ, Uluğ, Arslan, & Schiefer, 2018).
These studies, however, are limited in investigating audiences’ psychological processes of the narratives and their consequences. The studies testing theoretical models are oriented toward traditional media exposure and the consequence of awe, elevation, admiration, or gratitude (Algoe & Haidt, 2009; Dale et al., 2017) rather than improved well-being because of viewing user-generated eudaimonic videos on YouTube, the most widely used social video platform (Auxier & Anderson, 2021). Few studies examined the relationships of user-generated eudaimonic content on YouTube with well-being in terms of engagement processing.
A theoretically posed model test for the information processing of eudaimonic YouTube video consumption in cross-sectional studies may verify whether the exposure to the content from algorithmic selections prompts human well-being. Grounded in self-determination theory and the mediated wisdom of experience perspective, the current study examined the relationships of audiences’ exposure to user-generated eudaimonic YouTube videos with subsequent involvement, empathy, and perceived well-being (depression and happiness) in two studies. As an additional factor that can intervene in the relationship between empathy and depression and happiness, this study adapted self-compassion as a moderated mediator to the models. Self-compassion is known to facilitate eudaimonic well-being (Ferguson, Kowalski, Mack, & Sabiston, 2015). As a result of user-generated eudaimonic YouTube video viewing, audiences self-determine to involve, get emotionally embedded, and form well-being. With ubiquitous accessibility, this study can provide important implications as user-generated eudaimonic videos on YouTube may positively contribute to well-being enhancement.