From parasocial to parakin: Co-creating idols on social media

Yan, Qing; Yang, Fangkai

doi:10.1177/1461444820933313

Cited by 34 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 50 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…In addition, I acknowledge that some researchers in the field of fandom studies have investigated the role of computer-mediated communication, especially social networking services, in idol-fan relationships. For example, Yan and Yang [59] analyzed the interaction between an idol and fans in Chinese social media based on the framework of parakin relationships while Sandi and Triastuti [41] discussed the case of Indonesia. Nevertheless, Japanese idol culture has not received much research attention regarding its relation to computer technology, as it has traditionally attached importance to in-person interactions between idol members and fans.…”

Section: Use Of Computer-mediated Communication In Specific Situationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

No More Handshaking: How have COVID-19 pushed the expansion of computer-mediated communication in Japanese idol culture?

Yakura

2021

Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In Japanese idol culture, meet-and-greet events where fans were allowed to handshake with an idol member for several seconds were regarded as its essential component until the spread of COVID-19. Now, idol groups are struggling in the transition of such events to computer-mediated communication because these events had emphasized meeting face-to-face over communicating, as we can infer from their length of time. I anticipated that investigating this emerging transition would provide implications because their communication has a unique characteristic that is distinct from wellstudied situations, such as workplace communication and intimate relationships. Therefore, I frst conducted a quantitative survey to develop a precise understanding of the transition, and based on its results, had semi-structured interviews with idol fans about their perceptions of the transition. The survey revealed distinctive approaches, including one where fans gathered at a venue but were isolated from the idol member by an acrylic plate and talked via a video call. Then the interviews not only provided answers to why such an approach would be reasonable but also suggested the existence of a large gap between conventional ofine events and emerging online events in their perceptions. Based on the results, I discussed how we can develop interaction techniques to support this transition and how we can apply it to other situations outside idol culture, such as computer-mediated performing arts. CCS CONCEPTS• Human-centered computing → Empirical studies in HCI; • Social and professional topics → Cultural characteristics.

show abstract

Section: Use Of Computer-mediated Communication In Specific Situationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

No More Handshaking: How have COVID-19 pushed the expansion of computer-mediated communication in Japanese idol culture?

Yakura

2021

Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In the context of Chinese fandom, symbolic exchanges between fans and idols are public displays of devotedness that culturally magnify the idol's persona. Ultimately these "parasocial" interactions can take the form of "parakin" relationships that require fans to "protect" and "support" their idols like family members (Yan & Yang, 2020). Interacting with idols also creates "scalar intimacies" (Pritzker & Perrino, 2020) as fans interact with each other in fan circles.…”

Section: From Memes To Idols: Animation Through Fandom Governancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Through the mirroring effect of baby talk, the cutification of the vehicles and cutification of the fans themselves converge in a single cute utterance: “Forky-Forky, charge forth for Mommy” (叉叉给妈妈冲). Adopting the stance of a mother figure toward the idol, as is common in female fan circles (Yan & Yang, 2020), this commenter addresses it with a particularly childish diminutive.…”

Section: Devotional Artifacts As Participatory Propagandamentioning

confidence: 99%

“Let’s Go, Baby Forklift!”: Fandom Governance and the Political Power of Cuteness in China

Wong

Lee

Long

et al. 2021

Social Media + Society

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article describes how the Chinese state borrows from the culture of celebrity fandom to implement a novel strategy of governing that we term “fandom governance.” We illustrate how state-run social media employed fandom governance early in the COVID-19 pandemic when the country was convulsed with anxiety. As the state faced a crisis of confidence, state social media responded with a propagandistic display of state efficacy, broadcasting a round-the-clock livestream of a massive emergency hospital construction project. Chinese internet users playfully embellished imagery from the livestream. They unexpectedly transformed the construction vehicles into cute personified memes, with Baby Forklift and Baby Mud Barfer (a cement mixer) among the most popular. In turn, state social media strategically channeled this playful engagement in politically productive directions by resignifying the personified vehicles as celebrity idols. Combining social media studies with cultural and linguistic anthropology, we offer a processual account of the semiotic mediations involved in turning vehicles into memes, memes into idols, and citizens into fans. We show how, by embedding cute memes within modules of fandom management such as celebrity ranking lists, state social media rendered them artificially vulnerable to a fall in status. Fans, in turn, rallied around to “protect” these cute idols with small but significant acts of digital devotion and care, organizing themselves into fan circles and exhorting each other to vote. In elevating the memes to the status of celebrity idols, state social media thereby created a disposable pantheon of virtual avatars for the state, and consolidated state power by exploiting citizens’ voluntary response to vulnerability. We analyze fandom governance as a new development in the Chinese state’s long history of governing citizens through the management of emotion.

show abstract

“…Salah satu golongan konsumen yang sangat berpartisipasi aktif dalam pembentukan budaya di media digital adalah penggemar. Penggemar merupakan individu yang terobsesi dengan bintang media, aktor, selebriti, atau acara TV, dan mereka menciptakan budaya partisipatif melalui interpretasi dan kreasi konten media dari objek kegemaran mereka tersebut (Yan & Yang, 2020). Lingkungan digital baru juga meningkatkan kecepatan komunikasi penggemar.…”

Section: Latar Belakangunclassified

Konstruksi Identitas dan Relasi Interpersonal oleh Roleplayer Artis K-Pop di Twitter

Lainsyamputty

2021

KOMUNIKATIF

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Indonesia is a country with the highest development of the K-Pop target market in Southeast Asia. This also raises various participatory behaviors from fans. One form of participatory behavior is roleplaying, which is playing roles on social media using a K-Pop artist's identity. As roleplayers, they will present themselves as K-Pop artists and build relationships with other roleplayers. Twitter is the social media most commonly used by roleplayers because of its features that support identity presentation and personal communication with other people. Even though they use other people's identities, roleplayers will also build various interpersonal relationships with fellow roleplayers like in the real world, from friendships to romantic relationships. This study aims to explain how K-Pop artist roleplayers construct their identity and interpersonal relationships through Twitter. This research used symbolic interactionism theory as the guide. The research method used is qualitative, with research data obtained through questionnaires with open-ended questions and analyzed thematically. From the answers of 131 respondents, K-Pop artists' identity was the object that roleplayers were trying to present. They present it by providing factual information about the artist and forming a good self-image. The way they present the K-Pop artist's identity will affect their interactions with other roleplayers, which have several determining factors, namely similarities, trust, feedback, and the parasocial relationship with the used muse. This interaction will determine the formation of interpersonal relationships, including friendship and romantic relationships. There are different types of real-world roleplayer information given between their friends and lovers.

show abstract

From parasocial to parakin: Co-creating idols on social media

Cited by 34 publications

References 50 publications

No More Handshaking: How have COVID-19 pushed the expansion of computer-mediated communication in Japanese idol culture?

No More Handshaking: How have COVID-19 pushed the expansion of computer-mediated communication in Japanese idol culture?

“Let’s Go, Baby Forklift!”: Fandom Governance and the Political Power of Cuteness in China

Konstruksi Identitas dan Relasi Interpersonal oleh Roleplayer Artis K-Pop di Twitter

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About