Effects of emotions on concentration and usage intention to short video viewing among older adults

Concentration and usage intention levels in elderly short video viewers are investigated in relation to emotional influences. The experiment included three short video groups corresponding to positive, neutral, and negative emotional categories. Eye-tracking technology was used to capture real-time changes in the elderly’s concentration, and an OpenCV-based facial emotion recognition system recorded their facial expressions.

Additionally, a scale assessed four indicators: information acceptance, valence, concentration, and usage intention. Results showed that high-intensity emotions (e.g., “happy,” “anger,” and “surprised”) significantly enhance concentration. However, the relationship between valence and usage intention was not straightforward; instead, extreme valence levels (either very high or very low) notably impacted usage intention.

This indicates that emotional intensity, rather than valence polarity alone, is a key driver in enhancing concentration and increasing usage intention among elderly viewers. This work was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52575350), and in part by the Philosophy and Social Science Planning Fund Project of Zhejiang Province (25QNYC009ZD*, 24ZJQN086Y). This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 52575350]; and the Philosophy and Social Science Planning Fund Project of Zhejiang Province [grant numbers 25QNYC009ZD and 24ZJQN086Y].

Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China Zhichuan Tang, Nuo Chen, Zhixuan Cui & Ruoren Tang The authors declare no competing interests. This study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of Zhejiang University of Technology in March 2024, under Application No. 0323/2024/20240028. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent was obtained in writing from all elderly participants in March 2024. Prior to the experiment, each participant was provided with a detailed explanation of the study’s purpose, procedures, potential risks, and privacy protection measures. Participants were assured that their data would be anonymized and used solely for research purposes.

They were also informed of their right to withdraw from the study at any time without penalty. Written consent was obtained from all participants before the commencement of any experimental procedures. Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.