The last concept that may help explain the relationship between influencers and the online identity of fans is parasocial relationships.
Parasocial relationships can be traced back to Horton and Wohl (1956) who described the relationship between a spectator and a performer.
Their main premise was that the reactions of television viewers to broadcasts represented that of people engaged in face-to-face
interactions. Horton and Strauss (1957) further developed the concept within television viewing.
The key characteristic of parasocial relationships is that they are imagined relationships that tend to be experienced as real (Rubin &
McHugh, 1987); there is an illusion of intimacy as real interpersonal relationships (Bond, 2018; de Bérail et al., 2019; Dibble et al., 2016).
These relationships compensate dissatisfying real-life experiences (Caughey, 1984); this relationship is one-sided unilateral and not reciprocated by both parties (Horton & Wohl, 1956). Over time media users can give media personalities a role to play in their life and they start to perceive them as friends (Rubin et al., 1985) or as role models (Fisherkeller, 1997).
Studies prove that the relationship between the two parties is
illusionary when it comes to influencers and their fans, as influencers especially mega ones don’t have the time to respond to comments and interact with each and every fan (Labrecque, 2014; Lee & Watkins, 2016; Sokolova and Kefi, 2020).
In his book Imaginary social worlds: a cultural approach, Caughey (1984) describes how fans behave. He explains that they refer to their hero as a friend or an older sister or mentor or father figure or guide.
These words reflect that parasocial relationships are a normal part of social development during adolescence as confirmed by studies, which is of special importance to this study due to its focus on youth (Adams-Price & Greene, 1990; Greene & Adams-(Adams-Price, 1990; Steele & Brown, 1995). Parasocial relationships are represented in the following
behaviours: fans feel as if they know celebrities through their exposure in the media; repeated exposure to a vlogger can elicit similar feelings of relationship enhancement as traditional media. As this relationship continues to develop, the viewer will start to see the vlogger as a trusted source of information. They seek out their advice and guidance (Rubin et al., 1985); they see the media personality as their friend
(Perse & Rubin, 1989); and, they want to meet the media personality (Rubin et al., 1985).
It’s worth noting that similar to the case of the previous concepts, the majority of past research and studies about parasocial relationships focuses on the fan-celebrity relationship. For example, Alperstein (1991) found that respondents in his study created a range of imaginary relationships with celebrities in television advertisements and those relationships became part of the individual's social construction of reality. Parasocial relationships are an appropriate theoretical
framework for studying the one-sided relationship between celebrities and fans (Stever & Lawson, 2013); therefore, it can be extended to YouTube personalities or vloggers and their fans.
With the advent of social media there are a number of growing studies about parasocial media within that realm. I will share a selection of those studies to demonstrate how versatile the concept of parasocial relationships is and that it can be examined across a range of media and communication spaces and platforms. Kassing and Sanderson (2009) investigated parasocial relationships through a thematic analysis of 1,086 fan postings on cyclist Floyd Landis’s Web site (floydlandis.com). They found that fans interaction with Landis was a typical parasocial interaction from the side of these fans towards the athlete. Colliander and Dahlén (2011) found that blogs generated more purchase intention because of increased parasocial relationships.
Tsiotsou (2015) looked at how social and parasocial relationships develop in SNS. She found that consumer relationships and behaviours
are quite complex in SNS and that consumers are no longer passive.
Rihl & Wegener (2019) explored how parasocial relationships are formed with YouTubers. They used an exploratory online survey and found that the strength of these parasocial relationships is not
influenced to any great extent by use of the feedback functions on platforms.
Displays of authenticity, identification, Source Credibility Theory and parasocial relationships are interlinked as demonstrated by studies.
Basil (1996) found that identification may underlie attitude or
behavioural change. Studies have linked the perceived authenticity of the persona to be a significant predictor of parasocial relationships (Alperstein, 1991; Rubin et al., 1985; Rubin & McHugh, 1987).
Similarly, Sokolova and Kefi (2020) found that the credibility of influencers and parasocial interaction have a significant and positive relationship with purchase intentions of followers.
4 The research question
My main goal is to explore the way in which influencers’ and their fans’ processes of identity construction are connected through their online performances and interactions. Drawing on the literature review above, I will discuss my goal through exploring the following research question and its sub questions:
What is the relationship between influencers and the online identity of their fans from Egyptian youth?
To unpack this question, specific questions pertain to influencers:
• How do influencers present themselves online?
• How do they see their fans?
• How do they see themselves and their role in relation to their fans?
Questions which pertain to fans of influencers from Egyptian youth include:
• How do fans construct and present their online identity?
• How do fans see influencers?
• How do they see themselves in relation to influencers?
Concluding Thoughts
The purpose of this Chapter was to shed light on the theoretical
framework that will underpin the study and highlight the key pieces of literature relevant to this study. In the first section, I covered reception studies with appropriation as a central concept. I presented studies which brought together social media and reception to demonstrate the suitability of reception as a theoretical framework for this study.
In the second section, I moved onto identity in the digital age and shared the relevant definitions of identity to this study. Identity is not an individual achievement but grows by being acknowledged and recognized by others (Buckingham, 2008; Erikson, 1968). Identity is based on psychosocial reciprocity and can be influenced by many factors (Blasi & Glodis, 1995). It is important to note the reflexive nature of identity (Giddens, 1991). I highlighted youths struggles with identity as outlined by Erikson (1968). I followed this by outlining key
studies about identity especially those conducted in Egypt and the Arab world. I then looked at processes for online identity and self-presentation, starting with its definitions. I outlined the work of two key scholars who influenced the direction of literature and research about online identity and self-presentation, namely Goffman (1959) and Leary (1996). Their work and the work of subsequent researchers showed the performative nature of identity. I looked at the processes individuals use to construct their identity focusing on the construction of a profile, selecting and using photographs and sharing content.
When constructing an online identity, individuals have the liberty of choosing which aspect(s) to focus on and reveal to others and which to hide or downplay (Goffman, 1959; Manago et al., 2008; Schlenker, 1980; Tufekci, 2008; Turkle, 1995). I highlighted the role of others in co-construction of online identity. I concluded this section with a literature review of studies about online identity and self-presentation.
In the third section, I went on to build connections with four additional theoretical concepts which may help explain further the relationship between influencers and the online identity of youth: displays of authenticity, identification, Source Credibility Theory and parasocial relationships (Beverland & Farrelly, 2010; Djafarova & Rushworth, 2017; Duffy, 2013; Horton & Wohl, 1956; Hovland et al., 1953;
Kelman, 1961; Ohanian, 1990; Rubin & McHugh, 1987). In the fourth section I stated the goal of this study, its main research question and sub questions.
The literature review highlighted the lack of similar studies in the Arab world and Egypt. I was not able to find any study remotely close or similar to the research topic at hand. Therefore, there is an opportunity for this study to cover a well-researched topic in the West from an Egyptian perspective. I hope my study will contribute to advancing the youth agenda in Egypt as they are considered to be one of the top priorities. Egypt has a Ministry of Youth and Sports dedicated to focussing on youth. Its mission is to improve the life of youth through programmes which develop their skills and build their national pride (Ministry of Sports and Youth, 2020). Moreover, 2016 was declared Year of The Youth (Darwish, 2016). A number of initiatives were launched within that year focusing on knowledge, education, sports as well as financial initiatives. National youth conferences are held regularly to create a nation-wide dialogue about youth and move forward on any related issues. Lastly, Egypt launched the First World Youth Forum (WYF) in 2017 bringing together the brightest minds of youth from around the world to discuss current challenges worldwide (World Youth Forum, 2019). So, I hope that the findings of my study will feed into these efforts to connect more with youth and use social media more effectively towards that end.