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This study examined the effects of graphic realism and geographic proximity in newsgames. In a 2 (realism: high vs. low) × 2 (proximity: high vs. low) experiment, 161 participants played a modded newsgame. Suspense fully mediated the interaction effects of realism and proximity on willingness to help (the intention of newsgame forwarding and the amount donated). Realism indirectly affected newsgame forwarding through appreciation and led to negative emotion and higher arousal. Realism and proximity did not affect players' knowledge gained from game play, enjoyment, or subsequent reading of related news. Players underwent both hedonic and eudaimonic appraisals through the newsgames.

One of the democratic promises of social media relies on the expectation that citizens will be exposed to more diverse sources of information and will consequently be more likely to encounter views that challenge their beliefs and opinions. Still, recent evidence suggests that although social media may increase exposure to difference, citizen also take active steps to reduce the dissonance they encounter by engaging in selective avoidance tactics such as political unfriending and unfollowing. We report the findings from the first comparative study of political unfriending conducted in Asia, which analyzes survey data from two Chinese societies, Hong Kong and Taiwan. We find that political interest, political discussion network size, and political discussion with distant others all predict the likelihood of engaging in selective avoidance on social media. The results also suggest that political interest is a stronger predictor of unfriending in Hong Kong, while social and psychological factors play a more important role in Taiwan.

Enjoyment of frightening content is a paradoxical issue in communication research. Revising Zillmann's model of suspense, we propose a three-factor model examining the audience appeal of horror content in a virtual reality (VR) survival horror game. In a laboratory study, participants played a VR horror game. The results show significant effects of the three-way interaction among horror self-efficacy, physiological arousal, and fear on enjoyment and future intentions to play similar games. Horror self-efficacy interacts with fear to affect enjoyment only among high-arousal participants. Among high-fear participants, higher horror self-efficacy leads to significantly greater enjoyment than lower horror self-efficacy. We measured enjoyment through self-reported ratings, future intentions to play similar games, and the behavioral choice of subsequent games to demonstrate the appeal of horror content. Horror self-efficacy in coping with mediated fright is the key to explaining the conditional positive association of fear and enjoyment in the gaming context.

How do social media facilitate adjustment to changes in social structure and culture? This research examines the impact of online social networking on online and offline social capitals and adjustment of international students in the United States. A survey of 195 international students in a major Midwestern university showed that students' interactions with Americans and home country friends using Facebook, extroversion, and horizontal collectivism were positively related to international students' social adjustment and online bridging capital. Facebook usage mediated the relationship between extroversion and online social capital. The implications of social network site use, personality, and cultural difference on social capital and adjustment are discussed.