The Allure of the Tribe: Exploring the Psychology of Fandom
Fandoms – passionate communities built around shared interests have become a defining feature of pop culture. From the electric atmosphere of a football stadium to the intricate fan art dedicated to K-pop bands, the intensity of fandom devotion can be both captivating, mystifying and, at times, worrying.
Team Lewis / Samantha Aloysius
Gatekeeping the Gatekeepers: An Exploratory Study of Transformative Games Fandom & TikTok Algorithms
Within fandoms, gatekeeping practices such as delineating authentic from fake fans filter out certain identities. While the types of fans excluded vary by fandom, mainstream digital games culture–and the hegemonic, masculine groups within it–frequently leverage gatekeeping tactics like harassment to silence or churn others (i.e., women) from participating. While there has been considerable scholarship documenting gatekeeping in online digital games there has been less examination of this occurring within video game fandom. We conducted an exploratory study to investigate gatekeeping in response to TikTok videos about Call of Duty's masculine operator Ghost. We found more comments qualifying as celebratory fun than gatekeeping. We argue that social media spaces by virtue of their recommendation algorithms are productive sites for reimagining games counter to affirmational readings within relatively niche communities.
Sage Journals / Jessica E. Tompkins, Ashley ML Guajardo (née Brown)
From celebrity advocacy to fandom advocacy: Harness the power of participatory fandom culture
On February 4, 1962, internationally renowned actor and comedian Danny Thomas founded the nonprofit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Utilizing his celebrity status and extensive connections within the entertainment industry, Danny organized fundraising events and enlisted the support of fellow celebrities to raise public awareness and financial resources for the hospital’s mission of treating pediatric cancer and other life-threatening diseases (Stjude.org, 2023). Over time, the hospital has evolved into the world’s leading pediatric cancer research facility and currently ranks as America’s third largest healthcare charity. It has maintained continuous collaboration with more than 200 celebrity partners and supporters (Looktothestars.org, 2023). Danny Thomas’s work with St. Jude stands as one of the earliest and most well-documented instances of highly successful collaborations between a celebrity and a nonprofit in the modern era.
Science Direct / PR Relations Review - Baobao Song, Minhee Choi
Study of influencers in the pharmaceutical field and connection with their audience
Through a methodology based on content analysis, the publications and reactions of the main pharmaceutical-themed profiles on TikTok are examined, delving into the communication resources, interaction strategies and topics with which they connect with their audience. The results reveal that, unlike other digital spaces, which are more prone to tension and confrontation, pharmaceutical influencers can openly expose their experience and professional opinion, and also demonstrate their mastery of the technical resources offered by TikTok to create informative videos about health.
Mediterranean Journal of Communication (MJC) / Revista Mediterránea de Comunicación (RMC)
