Loneliness and the use of social media to follow celebrities: A moderating role of social presence |
| |
| Authors: | Jihyun Kim Jinyoung Kim Hocheol Yang |
| |
| Institution: | 1. Nicholson School of Communication and Media, University of Central Florida, P.O. Box 161344, Orlando, FL 32816, USA;2. College of Communications, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA;3. Klein College of Media and Communication, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA |
| |
| Abstract: | Because social media provide users with the possibility of an easy way to communicate with celebrities in society, it has become a more common practice to follow celebrities through social media. However, there exists few studies that examine how people’s individual characteristics are related to their celebrity-following behavior. In this regard, the current study examines whether celebrity followers’ loneliness is associated with the following behavior of their favorite celebrity. Data were collected through an online survey (N = 210). Primary findings suggest that celebrity followers’ loneliness is positively related to frequent visits of their favorite celebrity’s social media, greater social-interpersonal motive for following the celebrity, and greater enjoyment of learning about personal life stories of the celebrity. Social presence is found to be a significant moderator that can intensify more favorable parasocial relationship perceptions with the celebrity. |
| |
| Keywords: | Celebrity Loneliness Parasocial relationship Social media Social presence |
| 本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录！ |
|
