Viewers who watch videos featuring scrolling audience comments, known as Danmu, are more likely to become loyal followers of the creators they watch, according to new research exploring how the online video-watching experience shapes audience behaviour. The findings were published in Electronic Markets.
The study, conducted with 363 users of the Chinese video platform Bilibili, found that the interactive format of Danmu videos significantly influences whether audiences continue following a vlogger and actively participate in the comment stream. Danmu is a technology that overlays real-time viewer comments directly onto video footage, creating a shared viewing experience even when audiences are watching alone.
Researchers identified four key dimensions of the Danmu video-watching experience: social presence, a sense of companionship, information overload, and a perceived herd effect. Three of these, namely social presence, companionship, and the herd effect, were found to strengthen viewers’ sense of belonging to the online community surrounding a vlogger. Information overload, caused by too many comments at once, had the opposite effect, weakening that sense of connection.
The sense of belonging that audiences develop plays a crucial role in building what psychologists call parasocial relationships, the one-sided emotional bonds people form with media personalities. The study found that viewers who felt a strong sense of belonging were significantly more likely to develop both parasocial attachment and parasocial identification with a vlogger, meaning they felt emotionally connected to them and aspired to resemble them. These parasocial bonds, in turn, were strong predictors of ongoing loyalty.
The research draws on human brand theory, which holds that well-known media figures can be understood as brands in their own right. Vloggers, much like consumer brands, generate loyalty not through transactions but through emotional and psychological engagement. The findings suggest that the video-watching environment itself, shaped by the comment technology around it, is a significant driver of that engagement.
Practical advice from the study focuses on how vloggers and advertisers can cultivate stronger audiences. Creators who actively manage and encourage positive comment activity may be better placed to convert casual viewers into long-term followers or paying subscribers. The quality of the comment atmosphere matters as much as the content of the videos themselves, the researchers argue. For brands considering influencer partnerships, the social dynamics of a creator’s community are worth examining as carefully as their follower count.
The study was conducted exclusively with Chinese Bilibili users, and the authors acknowledge that findings may not apply equally across other platforms or cultural settings. Western video platforms such as YouTube do not natively support Danmu-style comment overlays, though similar features have appeared in live-streaming environments.
As creator economies continue to grow globally and competition for audience attention intensifies, the psychological mechanisms behind viewer loyalty are becoming increasingly relevant for content creators, marketers, and platform developers alike.