Danmaku in Online Learning: Turning Lonely Study Sessions into Lively Conversations

 

By Xi Lin

 

Picture this: You’re watching an online lecture, alone in your room, trying to stay focused while your phone buzzes temptingly nearby. Suddenly, a stream of floating comments glides across the video: someone cracks a joke about the professor’s example, another student drops a link to a helpful article, and a third points out a mistake in the slides. You’re not just watching anymore—you’re part of a conversation.

 

That’s the magic of danmaku—real-time (or pseudo-real-time) on-screen comments—that researchers Yixuan Zhu, Xi Lin, Jinhee Kim, Ahmad Samed Al-Adwan, and Na Li explored in their study on how it can boost online self-regulated learning (OSRL).

 

The Problem: Asynchronous Learning = Asynchronous Loneliness

Online self-paced courses give students flexibility, but they often strip away something essential—social interaction. Without peers to bounce ideas off or instructors to nudge you forward, it’s easy to feel isolated and disengaged. And disengagement leads to one thing: higher dropout rates.

Enter danmaku. Popular on platforms like Bilibili, it lets viewers comment directly on specific moments in a video—so even if you’re watching later, it feels like your classmates are right there with you. But could this playful, chatty tool actually help students learn better?

 

The Experiment: Danmaku Meets Self-Regulated Learning

The team surveyed 100 university students (and interviewed a few brave volunteers) who used danmaku while watching educational videos. They wanted to know:

1. Why do students interact with danmaku?
2. How does it affect their ability to manage their own learning?

Students’ motivations boiled down to three big ones:

• Information and Entertainment: “Some danmaku give extra info the teacher didn’t cover… plus, funny comments make studying less boring.”
• Social Connection: “When I see others learning with me, I feel less lonely.”
• Self-Expression: “If I spot something missing or wrong, I’ll add my take.”

Peer pressure? Surprisingly low on the list—turns out, students didn’t feel forced to join in; they just wanted to.

 

The Good, the Better, and the “Wow, I’m Actually Engaged”

✅ Boosted Engagement: Students stayed more focused when they could respond to danmaku in real time.
✅ Stronger Reflection Skills: Commenting encouraged them to think critically and synthesize ideas.
✅ Self-Efficacy Boost: Helping others or getting replies built confidence.
✅ Community Feel: “The comment section feels like a classroom without walls.”

One student summed it up:

“If I can answer a question and get a reply from the teacher later, I feel more motivated to keep learning.”

 

The Catch

Not all interactions are equally helpful.

• Some students ignored instructor replies if they weren’t immediate.
• Low-value comments (spam, off-topic chatter) could distract.
• Without guidance, discussions sometimes stayed surface-level.

 

The Big Takeaway: Interaction Feeds Motivation

The study found that responding and reflection strategies were the most powerful for boosting self-efficacy—and that self-efficacy, in turn, made learning more enjoyable. It’s a feedback loop: the more confident students feel in contributing, the more they enjoy participating, and the more they participate, the more confident they become.

 

Try This in Your Online Class

If you’re a teacher designing video-based lessons:

1. Seed the conversation: Post thought-provoking or clarifying questions in danmaku.
2. Highlight student contributions: Recognize helpful comments in follow-up videos.
3. Set community norms: Encourage useful, respectful, and creative contributions.
4. Review and adapt: Use danmaku analytics to tweak your teaching.

 

Final Thought: Danmaku Won’t Replace Teachers… But It Might Replace the “Lonely Scroll”
This study shows that danmaku isn’t just a gimmick—it’s a bridge between solitary study and social learning. In the words of one participant:

“Even if we’re not in the same room, the danmaku makes me feel like we’re learning together.”

By turning passive watching into active engagement, danmaku can make asynchronous learning feel a lot more alive.

 

Reference

Zhu, Y., Lin, X., Kim, J., Al-Adwan, A. S., & Li, N. (2025). Exploring Human Interaction in Online Self-Regulated Learning Through Danmaku Comments. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2025.2480826