Television fiction and online communities: an analysis of comments on social networks and forums made by female viewers |
| |
| Authors: | Charo Lacalle Núria Simelio |
| |
| Institution: | Faculty of Communication Sciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain |
| |
| Abstract: | This article analyzes the feeling of communities of female social viewers who watch television fiction and participate in social networks and forums dedicated to the programs. The sample is made up of 7,849 comments from 157 platforms (49 Facebook pages, 71 Twitter accounts, and 37 forums). We describe the characteristics of these communities of fans, which differ significantly from cult fandoms and are based on ICT interweaving between reception and female viewers’ daily lives. The results reveal that these active online poster and lurker communities express themselves through their emotional ties with the television series, self-reflection, and the manifestation of intimacy. Identification with the group is based on the relationship of the storylines with their own lives, with no attempts at constructing a cultural or political identity. |
| |
| Keywords: | Television audiences social media internet online communities female identities |
|
|
