Serial Mediation Effect of Technology Features and Empathy on the Relationship between Excessive Short-Video Application Use and Prosocial Behavior

This study examines the relationship between excessive short-video application use and prosocial behavior, analyzing mediating pathways through a questionnaire survey conducted among Chinese college students. Latent Profile Analysis revealed a dominant pattern (97%) linking excessive use with heightened short video emotional experience and affective empathy. Serial mediation analysis within a structural equation modeling framework showed two antagonistic paths: Excessive use increased susceptibility to algorithmic information cocoons, reducing cognitive empathy and ultimately prosocial behavior. Conversely, it enhanced video-induced emotional experiences, elevating affective empathy and prosocial tendencies. Neither cognitive empathy nor affective empathy directly mediated the relationship, nor did excessive use directly predict prosocial behavior outcomes. This duality reflects the complex relationship between short-video technology and individual psychology and behavior.