Purpose:Performers may generate loyalty partly through eliciting illusory personal connections with their audience,parasocial relationships(PSRs),and individual illusory exchanges,parasocial interactions(PSIs).On soci...Purpose:Performers may generate loyalty partly through eliciting illusory personal connections with their audience,parasocial relationships(PSRs),and individual illusory exchanges,parasocial interactions(PSIs).On social media,semi-PSIs are real but imbalanced exchanges with audiences,including through comments on influencers’videos,and strong semi-PSIs are those that occur within PSRs.This article introduces and assesses an automatic method to detect videos with strong PSI potential.Design/methodology/approach:Strong semi-PSIs were hypothesized to occur when commenters used a variant of the pronoun“you”,typically addressing the influencer.Comments on the videos of UK female influencer channels were used to test whether the proportion of you pronoun comments could be an automated indicator of strong PSI potential,and to find factors associating with the strong PSI potential of influencer videos.The highest and lowest strong PSI potential videos for 117 influencers were classified with content analysis for strong PSI potential and evidence of factors that might elicit PSIs.Findings:The you pronoun proportion was effective at indicating video strong PSI potential,the first automated method to detect any type of PSI.Gazing at the camera,head and shoulders framing,discussing personal issues,and focusing on the influencer associated with higher strong PSI potential for influencer videos.New social media factors found include requesting feedback and discussing the channel itself.Research limitations:Only one country,genre and social media platform was analysed.Practical implications:The method can be used to automatically detect YouTube videos with strong PSI potential,helping influencers to monitor their performance.Originality/value:This is the first automatic method to detect any aspect of PSI or PSR.展开更多
Drawing on Parasocial Interaction(PSI)theory,this study examines the relational mechanisms between virtual idols and fans across cognitive,emotional,and behavioral dimensions.The findings reveal that,empowered by digi...Drawing on Parasocial Interaction(PSI)theory,this study examines the relational mechanisms between virtual idols and fans across cognitive,emotional,and behavioral dimensions.The findings reveal that,empowered by digital technologies,interactions between virtual idols and fans exhibit characteristics that transcend the traditional one-way model.On the cognitive level,anthropomorphic design strategies and fan co-creation blur the boundaries between the virtual and the real,as fans engage in"demediation"and perceive virtual idols as credible"digital life forms."On the emotional level,virtual idols provide a form of"simulated reciprocity"that is both minimizing social risk while maximizing emotional reward,effectively fulfilling users'needs for companionship and belonging-particularly among socially anxious groups-while also carrying potential risks of heightened"media dependency"and intensified feelings of real-world loneliness.On the behavioral level,fans build an active"participatory culture"through consumption,engagement,and secondary creation.Yet,under the joint influence of capital and subcultural dynamics,these behaviors also show tendencies toward"consumer alienation"and"group polarization."This study demonstrates that parasocial interactions in the context of virtual idols have evolved into a deeply involved and socially influential composite practice,thereby extending the explanatory scope of PSI theory in the age of artificial intelligence.The paper concludes with recommendations for future research directions and the cultivation of a healthy fan culture.展开更多
文摘Purpose:Performers may generate loyalty partly through eliciting illusory personal connections with their audience,parasocial relationships(PSRs),and individual illusory exchanges,parasocial interactions(PSIs).On social media,semi-PSIs are real but imbalanced exchanges with audiences,including through comments on influencers’videos,and strong semi-PSIs are those that occur within PSRs.This article introduces and assesses an automatic method to detect videos with strong PSI potential.Design/methodology/approach:Strong semi-PSIs were hypothesized to occur when commenters used a variant of the pronoun“you”,typically addressing the influencer.Comments on the videos of UK female influencer channels were used to test whether the proportion of you pronoun comments could be an automated indicator of strong PSI potential,and to find factors associating with the strong PSI potential of influencer videos.The highest and lowest strong PSI potential videos for 117 influencers were classified with content analysis for strong PSI potential and evidence of factors that might elicit PSIs.Findings:The you pronoun proportion was effective at indicating video strong PSI potential,the first automated method to detect any type of PSI.Gazing at the camera,head and shoulders framing,discussing personal issues,and focusing on the influencer associated with higher strong PSI potential for influencer videos.New social media factors found include requesting feedback and discussing the channel itself.Research limitations:Only one country,genre and social media platform was analysed.Practical implications:The method can be used to automatically detect YouTube videos with strong PSI potential,helping influencers to monitor their performance.Originality/value:This is the first automatic method to detect any aspect of PSI or PSR.
文摘Drawing on Parasocial Interaction(PSI)theory,this study examines the relational mechanisms between virtual idols and fans across cognitive,emotional,and behavioral dimensions.The findings reveal that,empowered by digital technologies,interactions between virtual idols and fans exhibit characteristics that transcend the traditional one-way model.On the cognitive level,anthropomorphic design strategies and fan co-creation blur the boundaries between the virtual and the real,as fans engage in"demediation"and perceive virtual idols as credible"digital life forms."On the emotional level,virtual idols provide a form of"simulated reciprocity"that is both minimizing social risk while maximizing emotional reward,effectively fulfilling users'needs for companionship and belonging-particularly among socially anxious groups-while also carrying potential risks of heightened"media dependency"and intensified feelings of real-world loneliness.On the behavioral level,fans build an active"participatory culture"through consumption,engagement,and secondary creation.Yet,under the joint influence of capital and subcultural dynamics,these behaviors also show tendencies toward"consumer alienation"and"group polarization."This study demonstrates that parasocial interactions in the context of virtual idols have evolved into a deeply involved and socially influential composite practice,thereby extending the explanatory scope of PSI theory in the age of artificial intelligence.The paper concludes with recommendations for future research directions and the cultivation of a healthy fan culture.
