New Content Formats in Digital Communications

Abstract

The emergence of new media channels goes hand in hand with the advent of new content formats and their subsequent rise in popularity. The digital era brings forth numerous new formats, with short video content currently emerging as the winner in terms of interaction, popularity, and return on investment (ROI) for content creators. This analysis examines a combination of psychological, lifestyle, and practical factors to explain why online users find this type of content so appealing and why the number of content creators joining this trend is increasing in the coming years. Social media with short video formats is studied from the perspectives of attachment theory and the socio-technical approach, which are useful in revealing the psychological motivators for online users actively seeking this type of content. Scientific literature about subjective feelings of engagement provides guidance on the fragmented workday and the usefulness of short-format content to fill small breaks in a busy day. From a practical standpoint, considering recent statistics on mobile usage, short-format content, especially vertical video, is faster, easier, and cheaper to create. At the same time, it is highly appealing, easy to distribute, and convenient to consume on smartphones without rotating the screen.