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Article History

Received: 3 April 2024

Accepted: 21 January 2026

First Online: 31 March 2026

Competing interests

: The authors declare no competing interests.

: This study involved anonymous, non-interventional survey research conducted with adult participants between January 2021 and June 2022. At the time of data collection, such research did not require ethics committee review under the policies of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, as it involved no identifiable personal data, clinical interventions, or vulnerable populations. The Ethics Review Panel of the Department of Communication and Technology, University of Science and Technology of China was formally established on 15 September 2023. In 2025, To meet international publication standards and to comply with updated institutional requirements for research in the humanities and social sciences, the study protocol underwent retrospective ethics assessment. An official exemption from ethical approval was granted on 25 September 2025 by the Ethics Review Panel of the Department of Communication and Technology, University of Science and Technology of China. No modifications were made to the study design, data collection, or analysis procedures between the period of data collection and the retrospective ethics review. All research activities adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki and relevant institutional and national guidelines.

: Electronic informed consent was obtained from all participants at the time of survey completion (January 2021–June 2022). Participants were presented with an online consent statement that outlined the study’s purpose, voluntary nature of participation, anonymity of responses, data usage for academic purposes, and their right to withdraw at any time without consequence. Consent was documented when participants selected the option “I agree to participate.” No identifiable personal information was collected.