Search results for "parasocial relationship"
showing 7 items of 7 documents
How listening to music and engagement with other media provide a sense of belonging: An exploratory study of social surrogacy
2020
The social surrogacy hypothesis holds that people resort to temporary substitutes, so-called social surrogates, if direct social interaction is not possible. In this exploratory study, we investigate social motives for listening to music in comparison to watching TV and reading fiction. Thirty statements about possible social reasons for the engagement with media were compiled. After 374 participants had rated their agreement with those statements, they were reduced to seven categories: Company, Shared experiences, Understanding others, Reminiscence, Isolation, Group identity, and Culture. The results propose that music is used as temporary substitute for social interaction alongside TV pr…
Hope You’re Not Totally Commercial! : Toward a Better Understanding of Advertising Recognition's Impact on Influencer Marketing Effectiveness
2022
Social media influencers (SMIs) have become an effective channel for reaching targeted customers. The present study explores the influence process of advertising recognition on consumer responses in the SMI marketing context. The authors examined an Instagram post featuring the endorsement of a brand and created an experimental design with four conditions related to advertising recognition and the parasocial relationship. Findings from a partial least squares structural equation modeling procedure indicate that advertising recognition results in overall negative consumer responses to SMI brand endorsements. The results also indicate parallel mediating effects of source credibility and atti…
Making and breaking relationships on social media: the impacts of brand and influencer betrayals
2021
This study considers how the relationships between social media influencers, brands and individuals are intertwined on social media and analyses the spill-over effects of feelings of betrayal. An experimental design with two transgression scenarios (influencer vs. brand) was created, and 250 individuals were recruited to participate in the study. The results show that a perceived betrayal by a brand can negatively affect the perceived coolness of the social media influencer that has endorsed the brand, as well as the parasocial relationships that followers have with the influencer. Accordingly, a perceived betrayal by a social media influencer can negatively affect attitudes, trust and purc…
‘You really are a great big sister’ – parasocial relationships, credibility, and the moderating role of audience comments in influencer marketing
2020
This study examines the moderating role of audience comments in influencer marketing. A YouTube vlog entry by a social media influencer featuring the endorsement of a brand was studied, and an experimental design featuring two conditions related to audience comments was created. The results indicate that a parasocial relationship with the influencer builds the perceived credibility of the influencer, while comments by other audience members moderate the effect. Influencer credibility positively affects brand trust and purchase intention. The findings enhance the understanding of the role of an active audience in influencer marketing. peerReviewed
Fictosexuality, Fictoromance, and Fictophilia: A Qualitative Study of Love and Desire for Fictional Characters
2021
Fictosexuality, fictoromance, and fictophilia are terms that have recently become popular in online environments as indicators of strong and lasting feelings of love, infatuation, or desire for one or more fictional characters. This article explores the phenomenon by qualitative thematic analysis of 71 relevant online discussions. Five central themes emerge from the data: (1) fictophilic paradox, (2) fictophilic stigma, (3) fictophilic behaviors, (4) fictophilic asexuality, and (5) fictophilic supernormal stimuli. The findings are further discussed and ultimately compared to the long-term debates on human sexuality in relation to fictional characters in Japanese media psychology. Contexts f…
“Thanks for Watching.” The Effectiveness of YouTube vlogendorsements
2019
This study examines the effectiveness of brand endorsements in vlogs (video blogs) by assessing the role of audience participation, parasocial relationship, and valence toward vlog endorsements on the perceived credibility of the vlogger and brand attitudes. Four experimental conditions were created on Qualtrics based on a YouTube vlog where the endorser reviewed a few products. The data were collected using Mturk and analyzed with 203 usable responses. The findings indicate that audience participation in the vlog enhances para-social relationship with the vlogger, thus further fostering the vlogger's perceived credibility as an endorser. Additionally, the valence of the audience's attitude…
Fictosexuality, Fictoromance, and Fictophilia: A Qualitative Study of Love and Desire for Fictional Characters
2021
Fictosexuality, fictoromance, and fictophilia are terms that have recently become popular in online environments as indicators of strong and lasting feelings of love, infatuation, or desire for one or more fictional characters. This article explores the phenomenon by qualitative thematic analysis of 71 relevant online discussions. Five central themes emerge from the data: (1) fictophilic paradox, (2) fictophilic stigma, (3) fictophilic behaviors, (4) fictophilic asexuality, and (5) fictophilic supernormal stimuli. The findings are further discussed and ultimately compared to the long-term debates on human sexuality in relation to fictional characters in Japanese media psychology. Contexts f…