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Article History

Received: 23 October 2024

Accepted: 28 November 2025

First Online: 20 December 2025

Competing interests

: The authors declare no competing interests.

: The research protocol was self-assessed and confirmed to be exempt from formal ethical review by the Ethics Committee for Human Sciences at the University of Turku, Finland. According to the University of Turku’s policy on Ethical Review in Human Sciences in Finland, which follows the national guidelines of the Finnish National Board on Research Integrity (TENK, formerly the National Advisory Board on Research Ethics), ethical review is required only if a study includes one or more of the following conditions: (a) deviation from the principle of informed consent, (b) intervention in the physical integrity of participants, (c) involvement of minors under the age of 15 without guardian consent, (d) exposure to exceptionally strong stimuli, (e) risk of causing mental harm beyond normal daily life, or (f) threat to the safety of participants or researchers. This study did not involve any of the above elements. It investigated adult users’ continuous use of theme park mobile applications through anonymous online surveys. Participants were recruited voluntarily via Prolific (for European participants) and Wenjuanxing (for Chinese participants). No identifiable or sensitive personal data were collected, and all participants provided digital informed consent before participation. Under Finnish ethical research regulations, such studies are exempt from formal ethics committee review, as they pose no physical, psychological, or privacy-related risks beyond those of everyday life and adhere fully to the principles of voluntary participation, respect for autonomy, avoidance of harm, and data protection. The Ethics Committee for Human Sciences at the University of Turku served as the independent ethical review body for this research and confirmed that the study was exempt from formal review. Its decision applies to the entire project, including data collection conducted outside Finland, thereby fulfilling the requirement of Article 23 (paragraph 3) of the Declaration of Helsinki regarding independent ethical oversight. All data collection and handling procedures complied with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR, Regulation (EU) 2016/679) and the Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL, 2021) of the People’s Republic of China. The study fully adhered to the principles of voluntary participation, informed consent, anonymity, avoidance of harm, and data protection, in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) guidelines of the Finnish National Board on Research Integrity.

: Informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to the start of data collection. Participants were adults aged 18 or older who were recruited voluntarily through the Prolific platform and social media channels. Data were collected between 19 and 29 February 2024. Electronic written consent was obtained through an online consent form embedded at the beginning of the questionnaire. Participants were required to read the consent agreement carefully, and only those who selected “I agree” were able to proceed to the survey. The consent form informed participants about the voluntary nature of the study, their right to withdraw at any time before submission without penalty, the anonymity and confidentiality of their responses, and the use of the data solely for academic research and publication purposes. Participants provided their informed consent in digital form by clicking an “I agree” button at the bottom of the consent page before beginning the survey.