Influence of Danmaku Comments on User Engagement in Short-Form Videos

This study investigates the impact of Danmaku Comments (DMCs) on user engagement in short-form video (SFV) platforms using a natural experiment. DMC is an emerging feature that displays comments overlaid onto video content and synchronized with the video timeline. While DMC can enhance viewer consumption experiences by fulfilling viewers’ needs for information, pleasure, connectedness, and belongingness, it may also cause negative effects like information overload and excessive visual complexity. We leverage the introduction of DMC on a leading SFV platforms in China to investigate the effects of DMC on user engagement. Using a difference-in-differences approach, we find that DMCs significantly increase likes and shares while decreasing regular comments. Furthermore, DMC’s impacts are heterogeneous across creators such that less popular creators and those producing longer videos benefit more from DMCs. These findings contribute to the literature on user engagement and provides practical insights for SFV platforms considering the adoption of DMCs.