The paper shows a strong connection between website aesthetics and psychological healing in Generation Z, but most of the participants were already familiar with and actively using the ZEPETO app. Does this create a selection bias, where the emotional benefits and loyalty might be influenced more by prior attachment to the platform than by the actual design of the digital exhibition? How can the authors separate the impact of digital art itself from the pre-existing platform loyalty or social familiarity with ZEPETO?
A significant methodological limitation is the conflation of the stimulus and the medium. The study aims to measure the impact of online digital art exhibitions as a stimulus, yet it delivers this stimulus exclusively through a single, highly gamified social platform (ZEPETO). This introduces a critical confounding variable: the platform’s inherent social and gaming features (avatar customization, social interaction, virtual economy) are inextricably linked to the artistic content. Consequently, the measured psychological outcomes, perceived restoration, place attachment, and loyalty, are likely a product of the combined “ZEPETO experience” rather than the digital art exhibition in isolation. The findings therefore cannot disentangle the effect of the art itself from the potent influence of the pre-existing, engaging platform in which it was hosted.