Live Interactive Singing in Live Streams and Loneliness Among International Students: Social Connection, Social Support and FoMO

International students are particularly susceptible to feelings of loneliness due to the profound disruption of social ties that accompanies geographic displacement. The challenges of adapting to new cultural environments, navigating unfamiliar social norms, and facing acculturative stress can create a significant sense of isolation. While active online engagement has been recognized as a potential buffer against these negative psychosocial outcomes, the specific impact of live interactive singing on loneliness among this demographic has remained underexplored. A recent study published in Frontiers in Psychology sheds light on this phenomenon, revealing a significant association between live interactive singing on native-language live-streaming platforms and reduced loneliness in international students.

Key Findings and Background

The research, conducted with 685 international students who actively used native-language live-streaming platforms and participated in at least four live interactive singing sessions per month, employed a cross-sectional online survey. The study’s core findings indicate that live interactive singing behavior is linked to lower levels of loneliness. This association is mediated through two key psychological mechanisms: social connection and perceived social support. Furthermore, the study identified fear of missing out (FoMO) as a significant moderator, revealing that its detrimental effects can weaken the beneficial patterns observed.

International students represent a vulnerable population in higher education. The experience of studying abroad inherently disrupts fundamental aspects of social life, including separation from family and friends, immersion in a foreign linguistic environment, and exposure to unfamiliar cultural norms. These stressors contribute to acculturative stress, which is consistently associated with elevated loneliness. Loneliness, defined as the perceived discrepancy between actual and desired social relationships, has well-documented negative consequences, including increased risk of depression, anxiety, cognitive decline, and even mortality. Studies have indicated high rates of loneliness among international students globally, with some reporting up to 72% in the United Kingdom and between 60-65% in Australia. This isolation often emerges early in their sojourn and can persist over time, suggesting a need for effective interventions.

The Role of Online Engagement

In response to unmet social needs in their immediate environment, individuals often turn to alternative avenues for connection. The social compensation hypothesis suggests that those facing structural disadvantages in offline social contexts, including cultural displacement, may seek fulfillment of belonging needs through mediated channels. For international students, this often translates into seeking connection within their home culture, reconnecting with native-language communities and familiar cultural practices online. Digital communication becomes a crucial resource for restoring the sense of belonging disrupted by physical relocation.

However, not all forms of digital communication yield the same psychological benefits. Research highlights the importance of the mode of engagement. Active participation, characterized by direct and reciprocal exchange, is generally associated with better psychosocial outcomes, while passive consumption tends to correlate with poorer outcomes. More recent scholarship emphasizes that the benefits of active use are contingent on real-time reciprocity and contextual warmth. Synchronous, directed, one-on-one exchanges are particularly effective in fostering feelings of relatedness and are perceived as genuine social interaction, a threshold not met by passive browsing or one-click acknowledgments.

Live Streaming as a Unique Digital Environment

Live streaming platforms, with their synchronous nature and capacity for multi-modal exchange, create a shared temporal frame that fosters unique "cyber-social relations." While much of the existing research on live streaming has focused on commercial aspects like platform stickiness and viewer loyalty, a growing body of work is exploring its psychological and relational dimensions. Active engagement on these platforms has been linked to higher social presence, social connectedness, and subjective well-being. Synchronous live interactions can serve as a "social surrogate," mitigating loneliness during periods of isolation.

Within this context, live interactive singing emerges as a particularly relevant form of engagement. This behavior, often conceptualized as "co-performing," involves real-time vocal coordination between a streamer and viewers, conveying emotional tone and cultural identity through embodied performance. For international students, engaging in live interactive singing on native-language platforms can serve as a form of "digital homecoming," offering a temporary re-entry into the sonic and emotional landscape of their home culture. Experimental evidence supports the notion that online group singing can lead to greater reductions in loneliness and increases in social participation compared to verbal exchange alone, suggesting that the embodied vocal element plays a crucial role.

Mediating Mechanisms: Social Connection and Perceived Social Support

The study proposed and tested two key mediating mechanisms: social connection and perceived social support. Social connection, defined as the subjective perception of belonging and closeness to others, represents the immediate psychological outcome of positive social interaction. Perceived social support, on the other hand, is a more enduring appraisal of available emotional, instrumental, and informational resources. Both have been independently shown to mediate the relationship between social media communication and loneliness.

The research posited a sequential mediation model, suggesting that social connection and perceived social support operate in tandem. The immediate psychological yield of interaction, social connection, may accumulate over time to foster stable perceptions of available social support. This ordering is theoretically grounded in social presence theory and social capital theory, which suggest that situational experiences of connection precede the development of robust support perceptions. For international students, who may struggle to form these connections offline due to language and cultural barriers, digitally facilitated connection can be a crucial stepping stone towards perceived support.

The Moderating Role of Fear of Missing Out (FoMO)

The study also investigated the boundary conditions under which the benefits of live interactive singing might be diminished. Fear of missing out (FoMO), characterized by an apprehension that others are having rewarding experiences from which one is absent, indexes an anxiety-driven motivational mode. Self-determination theory suggests that behaviors performed under such extrinsic regulation may not yield the same well-being benefits as those performed autonomously.

For international students, FoMO can be particularly potent. The constant visibility of social activities and connections from their home countries, juxtaposed with their physical absence, can exacerbate feelings of isolation. When engagement is driven by FoMO, the potentially restorative act of live interactive singing could transform into an anxious obligation, undermining its capacity to alleviate loneliness. The study found that FoMO moderated the associations between live interactive singing behavior and both social connection and perceived social support, as well as its direct association with loneliness. Specifically, the beneficial pattern was weaker at higher levels of FoMO. This suggests that while live interactive singing can be a valuable tool, its effectiveness is contingent on the user’s underlying motivational state.

Methodology and Findings

The study utilized a cross-sectional online survey administered to 685 international students. Participants, primarily from Mainland China and studying in countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, completed self-report measures assessing live interactive singing behavior, social connection, perceived social support, FoMO, and loneliness. Statistical analyses, including moderated serial mediation modeling, were employed to test the hypotheses.

The results confirmed the initial hypotheses:

• Hypothesis 1: Live interactive singing behavior was negatively associated with loneliness.
• Hypothesis 2a & 2b: Both social connection and perceived social support mediated the association between live interactive singing behavior and loneliness.
• Hypothesis 3: Social connection and perceived social support sequentially mediated this association, with social connection preceding perceived social support.
• Hypotheses 4, 5, & 6: Fear of missing out negatively moderated the associations between live interactive singing behavior and social connection, perceived social support, and the direct association with loneliness, respectively. The beneficial effects were attenuated at higher FoMO levels.
• Hypothesis 7: FoMO also moderated the serial indirect association, weakening its impact at higher FoMO levels.

Implications and Future Directions

The findings have significant theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, the study refines the active use framework by focusing on a specific, functionally defined digital behavior and by integrating motivational factors like FoMO. It also advances models of loneliness by proposing a sequential mediation of social connection and perceived social support, offering a more nuanced understanding of how digital interactions translate into psychological benefits.

Practically, the research highlights the relevance of culturally familiar interactive digital environments as supportive spaces for international students. Native-language live-streaming platforms, particularly those offering engaging activities like live interactive singing, can serve as vital resources for mitigating loneliness. However, the moderating role of FoMO underscores the need for careful consideration of users’ motivational states. Platforms and student support services could consider strategies to encourage autonomous, connection-seeking engagement rather than anxiety-driven monitoring.

The study’s limitations include its cross-sectional design, which prevents causal inferences, and its specific sample, which limits generalizability. Future research should employ longitudinal and experimental designs to establish causality and explore these phenomena across diverse cultural contexts and platform types. Investigating the differentiation between emotional and social loneliness, and incorporating objective behavioral data alongside self-reports, would further enrich our understanding.

In conclusion, this research provides compelling evidence that live interactive singing on native-language live-streaming platforms can be associated with reduced loneliness among international students. By fostering social connection and perceived social support, this form of digital engagement offers a valuable avenue for cultural affirmation and belonging. However, the influence of fear of missing out necessitates a balanced approach, emphasizing genuine connection over anxious compulsion, to fully harness the potential of these digital spaces for student well-being.