Modeling the Impacts of Swipe Delay on User Quality of Experience in Short Video Streaming

2026-03-19

AI Summary

This study addresses the lack of systematic analysis on how swipe-induced delays affect Quality of Experience (QoE) in short-form drama video streaming. Through a subjective experiment encompassing 132 distinct delay patterns, it reveals for the first time that the temporal position of delays within a viewing session significantly influences QoE, and jointly examines the effects of delay duration, frequency, and timing. Building upon these insights, the authors propose the first QoE prediction model tailored specifically to swipe interactions in short-form dramas, achieving a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.93 with subjective ratings—substantially outperforming existing general-purpose models. The findings further identify a critical threshold: a single delay exceeding eight seconds markedly degrades user satisfaction, offering actionable guidance for optimizing interactive responsiveness on short-drama platforms.

Technology Category

• Humans and AI: Interaction Techniques and Devices
• Search and Optimization: Evaluation and Analysis
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Social Cognition And Interaction

Application Category

• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Metrics for user behavior and evaluating success
• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Web evaluation methodologies and metrics
• Web Mining and Content Analysis: Web data quality in the era of algorithmically-generated content

Abstract

Short video streaming platforms have gained immense popularity in recent years, transforming the way users consume video content. A critical aspect of user interaction with these platforms is the swipe gesture, which allows users to navigate through videos seamlessly. However, the delay between a user's swipe action and the subsequent video playback can significantly impact the overall user experience. This paper presents the first systematic study investigating the effects of swipe delay on user Quality of Experience (QoE) in short video streaming. In particular, we conduct a subjective quality assessment containing 132 swipe delay patterns. The obtained results show that user experience is affected not only by the swipe delay duration, but also by the number of delays and their temporal positions. A single delay of eight seconds or longer is likely to lead to user dissatisfaction. Moreover, early-session delays are less harmful to user QoE than late-session delays. Based on the findings, we propose a novel QoE model that accurately predicts user experience based on swipe delay characteristics. The proposed model demonstrates high correlation with subjective ratings, outperforming existing models in short video streaming.

Problem

• swipe delay
• Quality of Experience
• short video streaming
• user interaction
• temporal position

Innovation

• swipe delay
• Quality of Experience (QoE)
• short video streaming
• subjective assessment
• QoE modeling