Kim, M.S.; Wang, S.; Kim, S. Effects of Online Fan Community Interactions on Well-Being and Sense of Virtual Community. Behav. Sci.2023, 13, 897.
Kim, M.S.; Wang, S.; Kim, S. Effects of Online Fan Community Interactions on Well-Being and Sense of Virtual Community. Behav. Sci. 2023, 13, 897.
Kim, M.S.; Wang, S.; Kim, S. Effects of Online Fan Community Interactions on Well-Being and Sense of Virtual Community. Behav. Sci.2023, 13, 897.
Kim, M.S.; Wang, S.; Kim, S. Effects of Online Fan Community Interactions on Well-Being and Sense of Virtual Community. Behav. Sci. 2023, 13, 897.
Abstract
Activities in the digital economy driven by information technology have rapidly increased in scope and speed in the aftermath of COVID-19. Meanwhile, social isolation accelerated by quarantine measures has increased concerns about individuals’ mental health. However, little is known about the specific consequences of online interactions, especially when applied in online fan community-based relationships where loyal community members are prevalent. Therefore, we examined whether a sense of virtual community (SOVC) can link fans’ online activities with their mental well-being and behavioral loyalty to the platform. For this purpose, we focus on BTS fandom “Adorable Representative MC for Youth” (ARMY) behaviors and attitudes on the fan community platform Weverse. With 202 valid data samples acquired from global ARMY, this study conducted a partial least squares–structural equation modeling analysis. The empirical findings reveal that SOVC in Weverse is significantly influenced by the intensity of online interactions with other fans and parasocial relationships with celebrities. SOVC is found to be the direct predictor of fans’ behavioral loyalty and mental well-being. When considering fans’ perceptions of other social media platforms, dissatisfaction with previous online fan communities enhances the intensity of online interactions with other fans in Weverse.
Keywords
Fan community platform; Mental well-being; Sense of virtual community; Fan interaction; Parasocial relationship; Weverse
Subject
Social Sciences, Media studies
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
