The Role of Real-Time Engagement in Shaping Social Media Check-In Behavior: Moderating Effects of Trust and Peer Influence

Social media platforms have reached a transformative stage, blending traditional digital interactions with real-time engagement features to foster user participation and connectivity. As real-time engagement mechanisms such as interactive communication, personalized feedback, and dynamic content recommendations become integral, they significantly shape users’ digital behaviors, including venue check-ins. Drawing upon Trust Theory, Social Influence Theory, and the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), this study investigates how real-time engagement factors influence users’ check-in behavior on social media, emphasizing perceived credibility as a mediating factor and exploring the moderating roles of Trust in Platforms and peer influence (PI). Using survey data collected from 500 active social media users in China, analyzed through structural equation modeling, this research identifies significant pathways by which personal trust anchors (PTAs), information density value (IDV), and peer consensus dynamics (PCDs) collectively affect check-in decisions. The findings reveal that trust significantly facilitates the translation of engagement into immediate actions, whereas PI and perceived information authenticity enhance credibility perceptions under conditions of real-time interaction. This research advances the literature by integrating previously isolated constructs—trust, information quality, and peer validation—to present a comprehensive understanding of real-time engagement's role in digital participation. Practically, the study provides strategic insights for social media marketers and platform developers, emphasizing the critical balance of interactivity, trust mechanisms, and social validation to optimize user engagement within real-time digital ecosystems.