News reading on smartphones: How do mood, modality interactivity, and news story length influence news engagement?

A 2 (Mood: Positive vs. Negative) × 2 (Modality Interactivity: Scrolling vs. Swiping) × 2 (Length: Long form vs. Short Form) between-subject experiment (N = 330) was conducted to examine the impact of mood, modality interactivity, and news story length on news engagement under the context of smartphone news reading. Results showed news story length had a main effect on informativeness. A mood and news story length interaction on perceived usability, currency, and bias was obtained. In addition, a three-way interaction of mood, modality interactivity, and news story length on temporary dissociation was obtained. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.