Keywords
Perceived similarity
Parasocial interaction
Social presence
Forwarding intention
Submitted : 2026-04-25
Accepted : 2026-05-10
Published : 2026-05-25
Abstract
This study develops and tests a structural equation model based on the similarity-attraction theory, with perceived similarity as the independent variable, parasocial interaction and social presence as parallel mediating variables, and forwarding intention as the dependent variable, to examine the psychological mechanism underlying the forwarding behavior of travel vlog viewers. A total of 502 valid questionnaires were collected via an online survey platform, and confirmatory factor analysis and Bootstrap-based mediation analysis were used to verify the hypotheses. The results demonstrate that perceived similarity not only directly and positively influences forwarding intention but also exerts a partial mediating effect through two pathways: parasocial interaction and social presence, with the indirect effect accounting for 62.9% of the total effect. The model demonstrates a good fit, and all hypotheses are supported. This study reveals the parallel psychological pathways of “relational” and “experiential” aspects in travel vlog content diffusion, providing theoretical foundations and practical implications for content creators to optimize their dissemination strategies.
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