Title: Peer communication - emotional arousal relationship in social media apps: the roles of benefit communication and social identity

Authors: Li-Ling Liu

Addresses: Department of Business Administration, CTBC Business School, No. 600, Sec. 3, Taijiang Blvd., Annan District, Tainan 709, Taiwan

Abstract: The relationship between peer communication and emotional arousal has received little attention in social media research. The present research fills this research gap by exploring how benefit confirmation and social identity affect this relationship. This study collected questionnaire responses from 300 Taiwanese respondents; the findings indicated that peer communication significantly affected the aforementioned relationship. Specifically, the peer communication - social identity - emotional arousal relationship was stronger than the peer communication - benefit confirmation - emotional arousal relationship. This study was the first to explore the interrelationships between peer communication, benefit confirmation, social identity, and emotional arousal in relation to social media app use. The results revealed that the mediating effects of benefit confirmation and social identity on the relationship between emotional arousal and peer communication should not be overlooked.

Keywords: social media app; SMA; peer communication; benefit confirmation; social identity; emotional arousal.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMC.2026.150471

International Journal of Mobile Communications, 2026 Vol.27 No.1, pp.73 - 92

Accepted: 04 Sep 2024
Published online: 15 Dec 2025 *

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