The influence of social media motivation and parasocial interaction on attitudinal and behavioral engagement among social media users
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This study had two main purposes: to explore the relationships between social media motivation, parasocial interaction, and attitudinal and behavioral engagement, and to investigate any differences in gender and age group responses in terms of parasocial interaction. Survey research was used to study participants’ social media motives and behaviors. This study used purposive sampling to gather the data from social media users who used social media platforms and followed their favorite media figures on one of the social media, which included Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and Line. The total number of participants was 744. Overall, the results indicated the reasons people use social media the most were as follows: relationship maintenance, relaxation, new friendship, to pass time, entertainment, and peer influence. In addition, the results showed that those who used social media for relationship maintenance, relaxation, to pass time, entertainment, peer influence, and parasocial interaction were more likely to have attitudinal engagement with their favorite media personalities. Moreover, those who used social media for relaxation, entertainment, peer influence, and parasocial interaction were more likely to have behavioral engagement with their favorite media personalities. The results also indicated that younger groups were more likely to engage in parasocial interaction than those who were older. However, there were no gender differences found with regard to parasocial interaction.
Downloads
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
All rights reserved. Apart from citations for the purposes of research, private study, or criticism and review,no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any other form without prior written permission by the publisher.
References
Baek, Y. M., Cho, Y. and Kim, H. (2014). Attachment style and its influence on the activities, motives, and consequences of SNS use. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media 58(4): 522-541. [Online URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/08838151.2014.966362] accessed on November 2, 2018.
Bond, B. J. (2016). Following your “Friend”: Social media and the strength of adolescents' parasocial relationships with media personae. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 19(11): 656-660. [Online URL: http://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2016.0355] accessed on December 1, 2019.
Charney, T. and Greenberg, B. S. (2002). Uses and gratifications of the Internet. In Communication, Technology and Society: New Media Adoption and Uses, edited by C. A. Lin and D. J. Atkin, pp. 379-407. New York: Hampton Press.
Choi, S., Kim, I., Cha, K., Suh, Y. and Kim, K. (2019). Travelers’ parasocial interactions in online travel communities. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing 36(8): 888-904. [Online URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2019.1657053] accessed on December 20, 2019.
Conway, J. C. and Rubin, A. M. (1991). Psychological predictors of television viewing motivation. Communication Research 18(4): 443-463.
Ding, Y. and Qiu, L. (2017). The impact of celebrity-following activities on endorsement effectiveness on microblogging platforms: a parasocial interaction perspective. Nankai Business Review International 8(2): 158-173. [Online URL: https://doi.org/10.1108/NBRI-11-2016-0043] accessed on September 8, 2018.
Djafarova, E. and Rushworth, C. (2017). Exploring the credibility of online celebrities' Instagram profiles in influencing the purchase decisions of young female users. Computers in Human Behavior 68: 1-7. [Online URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.11.009] accessed on September 8, 2018.
Dumrongsiri, N. and Pornsakulvanich, V. (2010a). Internet use for social support among people living with HIV/AIDS: how did individual differences predict support frequency and satisfaction? Journal of Communication Arts 28(3): 57-76.
Dumrongsiri, N. and Pornsakulvanich, V. (2010b). Social networking sites in Thailand: motives and predictors of university students' behaviours. International Journal of Innovation and Learning 8(4): 427-444.
Flaherty, L. M., Pearce, K. J. and Rubin, R. B. (1998). Internet and face-to-face communication: not functional alternatives. Communication Quarterly 46(3): 250-268.
Giles, D. C. (2002). Parasocial interaction: a review of the literature and a model for future research. Media Psychology 4(3): 279-305.
Gleason, T. R., Theran, S. A. and Newberg, E. M. (2017). Parasocial interactions and relationships in early adolescence. Frontiers in Psychology 8: 255.
Gong, W. and Li, X. (2017). Engaging fans on microblog: the synthetic influence of parasocial interaction and source characteristics on celebrity endorsement. Psychology & Marketing 34(7): 720-732.
Hair, J. F., Jr., Anderson, R. E., Tatham, R. L. and Black, W. C. (1995). Multivariate Data Analysis. 3rd ed. New York: Macmillan.
Horton, D. and Wohl, R. R. (1956). Mass communication and para-social interaction. Psychiatry 19(3): 215-229.
Hwang, K. and Zhang, Q. (2018). Influence of parasocial relationship between digital celebrities and their followers on followers’ purchase and electronic word-of-mouth intentions, and persuasion knowledge. Computers in Human Behavior 87: 155-173. [Online URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.05.029] accessed on January 9, 2019.
Internet World Stats. (2019). Asia Marketing Research, Internet Usage, Population Statistics and Facebook Subscribers. [Online URL: https://www.internetworldstats.com/asia.htm#th] accessed on July 9, 2019.
Kaplan, A. M. and Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! the challenges and opportunities of social media. Business Horizons 53(1): 59-68.
Katz, E., Blumler, J. G. and Gurevitch, M. (1973). Uses and gratifications research. The Public Opinion Quarterly 37(4): 509-523.
Kim, J. and Haridakis, P. M. (2009). The role of internet user characteristics and motives in explaining three dimensions of internet addiction. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 14(4): 988-1015. [Online URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2009.01478.x] accessed on July, 9, 2019.
Kim, J. and Rubin, A. M. (1997). The variable influence of audience activity on media effects. Communication Research 24(2): 107-135. [Online URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/009365097024002001] accessed on January 15, 2019.
Klapper, J. T. (1963). Mass communication research: an old road surveyed. Public Opinion Quarterly 27(4): 515-527.
Knoll, J., Schramm, H., Schallhorn, C. and Wynistorf, S. (2015). Good guy vs. bad guy: the influence of parasocial interactions with media characters on brand placement effects. International Journal of Advertising 34(5): 720-743. [Online URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2015.1009350] accessed on June 4, 2017.
Ko, E., Kim, H. and Kim, J. (2015). SNS users' para-social relationships with celebrities: social media effects on purchase intentions. Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science 25(3): 279-294. [Online URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/21639159.2015.1043690] accessed on June 5, 2016.
Lee, J. E. and Watkins, B. (2016). YouTube vloggers' influence on consumer luxury brand perceptions and intentions. Journal of Business Research 69(12): 5753-5760.
Levy, M. R. (1979). Watching TV news as para-social interaction. Journal of Broadcasting 23(1): 69-80.
Lim, C. M. and Kim, Y. K. (2011). Older consumers’ TV home shopping: loneliness, parasocial interaction, and perceived convenience. Psychology and Marketing 28(8): 763-780. [Online URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/mar.20411] accessed on June 5, 2016.
Liu, M. T., Liu, Y. and Zhang, L. L. (2019). Vlog and brand evaluations: the influence of parasocial interaction. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics 31(2): 419-436. [Online URL: https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-01-2018-0021] accessed on June 5, 2016.
Lookadoo, K. L. and Wong, N. C. H. (2019). “Hey guys, check this out! #ad”: the impact of media figure-user relationships and ad explicitness on celebrity endorsements. The Journal of Social Media in Society 8(1): 178-210.
Men, L. R. and Tsai, W. H. S. (2013). Toward an integrated model of public engagement on corporate social networking sites: antecedents, the process, and relational outcomes. International Journal of Strategic Communication 7(4): 257-273.
Pew Research Center. (2021). Social Media Fact Sheet. [Online URL: https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/social-media/?menuItem=45b45364-d5e4-4f53-bf01-b77106560d4c] accessed on May 7, 2021.
Pornsakulvanich, V. (2007). Internet motives and use among Thai youths. University of Thai Chamber of Commerce Journal 27(2): 29-41.
Pornsakulvanich, V. (2010). Internet communication motives: The scale development. Journal of Communication Arts 28(4): 169-182.
Pornsakulvanich, V. (2017a). Influences of individual differences, internet communication motives, and internet usage on social well-being and satisfaction. University of Thai Chamber of Commerce Journal Humanities and Social Sciences 37(2): 1-16.
Pornsakulvanich, V. (2017b). Personality, attitudes, social influences, and social networking site usage predicting online social support. Computers in Human Behavior 76: 255-262. [Online URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.07.021] accessed on March 9, 2019.
Pornsakulvanich, V. and Dumrongsiri, N. (2013). Internal and external influences on social networking site usage in Thailand. Computers in Human Behavior 29(6): 2788-2795.
Pornsakulvanich, V., Haridakis, P. and Rubin, A. M. (2008). The influence of dispositions and Internet motivation on online communication satisfaction and relationship closeness. Computers in Human Behavior 24(5): 2292-2310.
Rasmussen, L. (2018). Parasocial interaction in the digital age: an examination of relationship building and the effectiveness of YouTube celebrities. The Journal of Social Media in Society 7(1): 280-294.
Rosengren, K. E. and Windahl, S. (1972). Mass media consumption as a functional alternative. In Sociology of Mass Communications: Selected readings, edited by D. McQuail, pp. 119-134. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Ross, C., Orr, E. S., Sisic, M., Arseneault, J. M., Simmering, M. G. and Orr, R. R. (2009). Personality and motivations associated with Facebook Use. Computers in Human Behavior 25(2): 578-586.
Rubin, A. M. (2009). Uses-and-gratifications perspective on media effects. In Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research, 3rd ed., edited by J. Bryant and M. B. Oliver, pp. 165-184. New York: Routledge.
Rubin, A. M. (2016). Parasocial relationships. In The International Encyclopedia of Interpersonal Communication, edited by C. R. Berger and M. E. Roloff. pp. 1-5. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. [Online URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118540190.wbeic171] accessed on May 9, 2019.
Rubin, A. M. and Perse. E. M. (1987). Audience activity and soap opera involvement: a uses and effects investigation. Human Communication Research 14(2): 246-268.
Rubin, A. M. and Step, M. M. (2000). Impact of motivation, attraction, and parasocial interaction on talk radio listening. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 44(4): 635-654.
Rubin, A. M., Perse, E. M. and Powell, R. A. (1985). Loneliness, parasocial interaction, and local television news viewing. Human Communication Research 12(2): 155-180.
Rubin, R. B. and McHugh, M. P. (1987). Development of parasocial interaction relationships, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 31(3): 279-292.
Spinda, J. S. W., Earnheardt, A. C. and Hugenberg, L.W. (2009). Checkered flags and mediated friendships: parasocial interaction among NASCAR fans. Journal of Sports Media 4(2): 31-55.
Stever, G. S. and Lawson, K. (2013). Twitter as a way for celebrities to communicate with fans: Implications for the study of parasocial interaction. North American Journal of Psychology 15(2): 339-354.
Sun, S. (2008). An examination of disposition, motivation, and involvement in the new technology context computers in human behavior. Computers in Human Behavior 24(6): 2723-2740.
Suwannachote, P. and Kaewthep, K. (2009). Communication, parasocial interaction and pro-social value learning of Korean star singers’ fanclub. Journal of Communication Arts 27(4): 60-78.
Tuten, T. L. and Solomon, M. R. (2013). Social Media Marketing. New Jersey: Pearson.
Vichitakul, P. and Cheyjunya, P. (2003). The cultural impact of Taiwanese TV drama, “Meteor garden”, on Thai juveniles. Master’s thesis. Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. [in Thai]
Wang, Q., Fink, E. L. and Cai, D. A. (2008). Loneliness, gender, and parasocial interaction: a uses and gratifications approach. Communication Quarterly 56(1): 87-109.
We Are Social and Hootsuite. (2018). Digital in 2018 in Southeast Asia Part 1 - North-West. [Online URL: www.slideshare.net/wearesocial/digital-in-2018-in-southeast-asia-part-1-northwest-86866386] accessed on March 2, 2019.
We Are Social and Hootsuite. (2020). Digital 2020. [Online URL: https://wearesocial.com/uk/blog/2020/01/digital-2020-3-8-billion-people-use-social-media/] accessed on February 15, 2020.
Yuksel, M. and Labrecque, L. I. (2016). “Digital buddies”: parasocial interactions in social media. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing 10(4): 305-320.
Zikmund, W. G. (2003). Business Research Methods. 7th ed. Mason, OH: Thomson South-Western.