Why Do "Digital Hamsters" Hoard but Never Consume? Configurational Pathways and Influencing Mechanisms of Digital...

The advancement of digital technologies has fostered distinctive behaviour patterns and cultural phenomena in online environments. As digital natives, Chinese Generation Z has gradually developed digital hoarding behaviour under the dual influence of technological convenience and emerging social pressures. Such behaviour functions as a coping mechanism for managing both real-world competitive anxieties and emotional uncertainties. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 35 Generation Z participants, this study employs fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to systematically examine the influence mechanisms of six antecedent conditions-media dependency, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, uncertainty avoidance, emotional attachment, and deletion barriers-on attitudes toward digital hoarding behaviour. The findings reveal two core configurational paths leading to high acceptance of digital hoarding: the first represents strategic knowledge accumulation pursued under the pressures of involution, where digital hoarding becomes a means of seeking competitive advantage; the second reflects a retreat into the digital sphere, where hoarding practices provide emotional security amid experiences of offline relational alienation. This study thus contributes a theoretical lens that moves beyond technological rationality toward social adaptation, explicating the intertwined emotional, psychological, and social drivers of digital hoarding. It also provides empirical insights for the design of supportive digital infrastructures and health education initiatives aimed at enhancing youth digital well-being.