Social media influencers talk about politics
Investigating the role of source factors and PSR in Gen-Z followers’ perceived information quality, receptivity and sharing intention
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12972105 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Z Cheng (0000-0003-0859-0538, Schlumberger (Ireland), corresponding author), Jin Chen (0000-0002-9490-9981, Twitter (United States)), Rachel X Peng (0000-0001-5520-3364, Twitter (United States)), Heather Shoenberger (0000-0001-6211-1361, Twitter (United States)) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 117-131 |
| Publication date | 2023-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Information Technology & Politics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1933-169X • E-ISSN: 1933-1681 |
| Publisher | Routledge (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/19331681.2023.2173700 |
| OpenAlex | W4319039205 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 25 |
| References cited | 72 |
Afforded by the unprecedented interactivity of social media, social media influencers (SMI) can build strong and trusting relationships with their followers. Such connections carry great potential and may be a powerful asset for political campaigns. Drawing on the existing literature on parasocial relationships (PSR) and political persuasion, we examined the effect of source factors and PSR on followers’ perceived message quality, receptivity, and sharing intention in a political advocacy context. An online survey of 390 U.S. university students showed that, in general, SMIs who engage in sharing political messages would influence a young audience’s opinion formation. Our findings offered a unique and significant perspective: source characteristics of expertise, similarity, trustworthiness, attractiveness, and interactivity will foster parasocial relationships, which leads to a higher level of perceived information quality, and then further predicts higher receptivity toward the SMI’s political advocacy and elicits the followers’ sharing intention
Advertising · Attractiveness · Business · Communication source · Context (archaeology · Influencer marketing · Interactivity · Persuasion · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Quality (philosophy · Receptivity · Social media · Source credibility · Computer Science · Impact of Technology on Adolescents · Media Influence and Health · Psychology · Social Media and Politics · Social Psychology · Marketing
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Who feels influenced? Investigating the (non-)political experiences of young adults with social media influencers using a latent profile analysis
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Credibility of a peer endorser and advertising effectiveness
Construction and Validation of a Scale to Measure Celebrity Endorsers' Perceived Expertise, Trustworthiness, and Attractiveness
Influence of parasocial relationship between digital celebrities and their followers on followers’ purchase and electronic word-of-mouth intentions, and persuasion knowledge
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Why We Follow
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| Unique citing works | 25 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 12,5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 24 |