Online games are garnering large numbers of gamers, stimulating strong competition among game developers, who continue to explore new ways to increase the amount of time players spend on such games. Online games require players to concentrate on game content, seek knowledge and learn how to complete in-game tasks. However, past research has not examined how knowledge seeking intensity, which likely strengthens knowledge schemas and helps foster game loyalty and use, motivates online gameplay. To address this research gap, we draw on schema theory to construct a research model and test it using both survey and system-captured data from 385 players. We found that knowledge seeking intensity has a stronger effect than does in-game flow on enhancing players’ knowledge schemas and learning satisfaction, thus facilitating their goal progress and further strengthening their game loyalty and actual game use. We modelled and examined the mechanism underlying the influence of knowledge seeking intensity and in-game flow on knowledge schemas. Specifically, we suggest that game developers should establish actionable strategies by urging players to seek more in-game knowledge that ensures players’ further engagement.

The study explores the effects of COVID-19 vaccine fake news on social media from the perspective of the elaboration likelihood model (ELM). The research model theorizes that factors of the central route and factors of the peripheral route influence panic vaccination intention through the third-person effect of fake news, personal norm, and the individual's attitude toward panic vaccination (i.e., the vaccination equivalent of “panic buying”). Data were collected via an online survey with 409 valid responses. The study applies partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the hypotheses. The findings have theoretical and practical implications and provide insights to help reduce the spread of fake news on social media during an outbreak to better ensure that people are not misled by fake news.

User loyalty or continued use is critical to the survival and development of any website. Focusing on the social network services (SNSs) context, this study proposes a research model for investigating individuals’ use motivations and the moderating role of habit with regard to gratification and continuance intention. This research integrates two influential media communication theories, media system dependency (MSD) and uses and gratifications, to examine SNSs-related behaviors. To comprehend online users’ motivations in depth, three motivations derived from MSD (understanding, orientation and play dependency relations) are operationalized as reflective, second-order constructs. The three motivations are theorized to affect parasocial interaction positively, and parasocial interaction is hypothesized to positively affect the gratification that individuals derive from SNSs usage. Furthermore, this study hypothesizes that gratification positively affects individuals’ continuance intention. Finally, we theorize that habit moderates the impact of gratification on continuance intention. Data collected from 657 Facebook users provide strong support for all six hypotheses. The results indicate that individuals’ motivations (i.e., the understanding, orientation and play dependency relations) positively affect parasocial interaction, which in turn has a positive effect on gratification, and subsequently continuance intention. In addition, the results show that habit has a small but negative moderating effect on the relationship between gratification and continuance intention. Implications for theory and practice are discussed, and suggestions are made for future research.