Date of Award

Spring 6-1-2024

Document Type

Honors Project

University Scholars Director

Dr. Joshua Tom

First Advisor/Committee Member

Dr. Andy Chen

Second Advisor/Committee Member

Dr. Kenman Wong

Keywords

Parasocial, YouTube, Content type, Parasocial relationship

Abstract

Media consumers are increasingly using online video platforms, such as YouTube which has record high numbers of viewers and subscribers compared to other media sites. This viewership increases the popularity of content creators who can be divided into two main categories; relationship-based or idea-based content. YouTube viewers bond with their favorite celebrities which has translated into parasocial relationships. In this study, explanatory qualitative research examines whether the two types of content found on YouTube, relationship-based or idea-based, influences the parasocial relationships formed. As the results show, relationship-based YouTubers consistently form more intense parasocial relationships than idea-based YouTubers.

Comments

A project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the University Scholars Honors Program.

Copyright Status

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/

Additional Rights Information

Copyright held by author.

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