The adolescent search for digital connection and intimacy: Gains and losses from relationships mediated through Twitter

Very few would disagree that the worldwide subjection of individuals to abundant variations of digital technologies inconspicuously drives and informs our individual beliefs and social actions (Silverstone, 1994, pp.133). On the other hand, there is less consensus when it comes to the quality and outcome of digitally mediated connections and relationships. The impact of technologies on digital intimacy still remains to be a heavily debated topic. Optimistic theorists such as Anthony Giddens suggests that personal relationships are becoming more democratic, intense and resemble collaborative projects as adolescents strived to anchor their developing self identities through intimacy. Alternatively, Ulrich Beck and Zygmunt Bauman viewed this in a more pessimistic light, suggesting that the rapid changes of digitally mediated relationships are corrosive and claimed the intimacy to be insipid and fragile (Jamieson, 2013, pp. 13). This essay will aim to explore both the advantages and disadvantages on how relationships can be mediated through digital media through a focused case study on the social media application Twitter. By researching Twitter and its users, the following text will analyse the behavioural patterns and interactions between different social media users, with a primary focus on adolescents from the ages of 13-21. 

Founded in 2006, Twitter is a communicative space (Schmidt, 2014, p. 4) originally designed as a hybrid of a social networking service (SNS) and a microblogging platform. Users were encouraged to interact with one another through publishing their own and replying to other users’ tweets. True to its microblogging roots, Twitter limits each tweet to be 280 characters or under, this forces users to only produce short form content, which means that everything will be concise and straight to the point, this makes all information on the app easy to absorb within a few minutes or even seconds. “The breadth and diversity of these uses of Twitter in contemporary society document the considerable adoption of Twitter as a platform for everyday and extraordinary, personal, and public communication.” (Weller, et al, 2013, p.37) Twitter is a flexible, growing platform that can mould itself to fit all the different ways different demographics may choose to use it. One of those demographics is fandoms.

Fandom culture is mostly agreed upon as a group of people socially organised around their shared appreciation of a certain pop culture media product or person (Baym, 2007, pp. 2). Fandoms have the ability to harbour individuals’ affect and generate collective intelligence. Individuals construct their own self identities and self presentations within their fan communities, essentially solidifying the person’s position and role in their respective groups. In doing so, some fans will gain status and become well known amongst other fans within the fandom, bringing the topic of structural layers and hierarchies of niche Twitter communities into play. For example, most well known actors and musicians such as Taylor Swift, Harry Styles and Billie Eilish all have fan made Twitter update accounts. One of them, @TheHarryNews has over 463k followers, and is officially verified by Twitter. Update accounts are often owned by multiple admins who are all fans of the celebrity, where they will dedicate a huge amount of time to create posts on the artist’s daily schedule, live performance videos, tour ticket sales, album release information, etc. Since stars like Harry Styles are typically impossible to personally contact online, many fans will turn to update accounts in an attempt to gain replies and interactions, which would make them feel closer to the celebrity, invoking a sense of increased intimacy with their idol. 

These fan groups will also develop a unique sense of shared identity, which allows personal relationships to be formed amongst members of the fandom, especially those who may possess and share similar ethos. However, it is inevitable that disagreements will form within fan communities. Some might argue that those disputes and controversies are desired, as it enables members of the group to express their own opinions on a topic they deeply care about. Arguments between two fandoms are also common, since fandoms are often made up of loyal avid fans who are highly protective and defensive of their idols. An example of this can be Star Wars vs Star Trek, As Coppa (2006, pp.50) mentioned, “When Star Wars began to generate a fandom of its own, some Star Trek fans felt threatened by this sudden upstart and began to treat Star Wars fans as badly as they had been treated” Outside of the internal fandom relationships mentioned, there is of course the relationship between the artist and their fans. This is the foundational aspect for every fandom, individuals in the fan community will first and foremost form their own relationships with their favourite artist. However these connections are often one sided, where the individual fan will feel significantly more intense emotions and care toward the artist. The fan will also have more knowledge of the artist, such as their love life, family dynamics, personal interests, etc. According to Horton and Wohl (1956), this is called a parasocial relationship. In a broader sense, these types of relationships are in the same vein as the relationships people might build with God, a loved one who has passed away or a fictional character. 

There are many opportunities that can stem from digitally mediated relationships between an artist and their fans. Public figures such as actors, musicians and content creators often make use of this, posting tweets specially catered towards their targeted demographic and fan base in hopes of gaining attention (Baym, 2013, pp. 222), in order to build and keep audiences for their TV shows, albums, live performances, etc. Artists are also able to reach out to their audience in a more direct and streamlined manner, skipping the formalities of going through processes such as meet and greets and signings. Being noticed by your idol through something as simple as a like on Twitter can give fans a more instant gratification and satisfy their base level of fan mania, further affirming that their invested time and emotional intensity will eventually become worth it (Proctor, 2016, pp. 6-7). Additionally, journalist Scott Kirsner believes that “The on-going conversation with your audience can

be a source of inspiration, motivation, and ideas. It is this powerful new link with

the audience that the old power players don’t understand.” (Kirsner, 2009, p. 4) Twitter seems to be an ideal hub for artists whose careers are progressively dependent on spectator relationships.  

Another advantage is the ability for the artist to take control of their self presentations through social media (Baym, 2013, pp. 222). In many ways, this can be liberating for the artist in comparison to the traditional way of having their manager or label take the lead and have the final say when it comes to the curation of their self image. However in some ways, this could disadvantageously blur the division of duties between the artist and their publicist or label, meaning that the artist must dedicate more time on marketing themselves rather than producing and creating their own art, putting pressure on artists to construct compelling identities that attract attention. This leads to the topic of curated perfection vs curated imperfection - artists nowadays have to adapt to this new wave of curated authenticity in order to seem more approachable and relatable to their fans (Marwick and Boyd, 2011a). Parasocial relationships have many benefits to the artist when it comes to the business aspects of this industry. Artists are progressively expected to devote more time to seeking attention and building rapport with audiences in order to earn income. When fans feel that they have a more intimate and personal connection with an artist - they are more inclined to spend more money and dedicate more time towards that said artist. For example buying merchandise, buying tickets for their concerts or even album signings and meet and greets, just so they can have more intimate experiences with their idols.

Twitter’s main uses and principle norms have been co-created over the years, by the company itself as well as users of the app and third party developers. Twitter users contribute to shaping the service through their characteristics of use. Through their usage of Twitter, these activities lead to new forms of communication and unseen phenomena in audience participatory culture (Weller et al, 2013, pp. 32). An example of this can be seen in Twitter specific meme formats and trends. These memes possess similar qualities as inside jokes, where only members of a specific community could fully understand. Twitter fandoms exemplify this, just as celebrities can form relationships with their fans on social media, fans can form even more personal relationships with other fans on the same platform. Oftentimes, Twitter niche groups are a place where young individuals seek the unique sense of community and belonging that they cannot find anywhere else. 

Undoubtedly, “Face-to-face interaction and relationships have a privileged place in various strands of psychology” (Jamieson, 2013, pp. 14-15) However, just as bullying exists in schools, face-to-face friendship circles or even family members, fans of certain media products might be targeted and made fun of. For example, many fantasy franchises such as The Lord of the Rings, Stranger Things and Harry Potter have been considered as “nerdy” and “uncool” to be a fan of. Due to this pressure coming in from the offline, outside world, there is a high probability that those fans will dive even deeper into their individual coping mechanisms, one of the most commonly seen being escapism. According to the uses and gratification theory, diversion (or entertainment) suggests that people will use digital media to emotionally escape from everyday problems and the mundane routine of their lives (Blumler and Katz, 1973). Young people in particular are often prone to using social media platforms as a replacement for interpersonal interaction and emotional release. A recent study on the experiences of belongingness of Filipino band fanatics claims that all interviewed participants from the ages of 17-19 years old have agreed that the band’s music and the band itself have saved them during their lowest points in life (Fernando, 2015, pp. 71-76). Similar phenomena exist prevalently within Twitter fan communities. In the summer of 2021, Season 4 of Stranger Things was released, and with the show came a brand new character - Eddie Munson, an outcast metalhead and retained high school student. Although the show already had an established and active fan community on Twitter, the debut of Eddie introduced a huge new wave of fans onto the platform. Fans created their own set of interactional norms: using fandom-specific hashtags, creating micro-labels, joining group chats, producing user generated content, etc. This community became a digital comfort zone for fans to freely express their opinions and passion for the show, eliminating the fear of being ridiculed or made fun of by the general public. Having access to tight knit communities can make fans feel a strong sense of unity and belonging, which could blossom into personal relationships where individuals can come together into creating support systems online.

Although Twitter mediated relationships and communities, if formed healthily, can be advantageous to its users, the overstepping of boundaries and abusing of power can cause some significant issues, specifically in fandom spaces, where avid fans tend to congregate. Twitter user @ebullience tweeted “I need a whole study done on people who think it’s ok to sit outside hotels, share peoples’ locations, shove cameras in someone’s face, etc. because I really and truly can’t comprehend having that mindset at all” This was tweeted in referral to stans actively seeking out their favourite celebrity’s location in hope of meeting said celebrity. The term stan originated in the early 2000s by the rapper Eminem in his song ‘Stan’, which means someone who greatly admires a famous person to an extent that is unusual. The word is also now commonly known as a hybrid of the words ‘stalker’ and ‘fan’. This issue spills from the digital space into the real world and remains a severe potential threat to celebrities, as evident in the Christina Grimmie incident - where a stalker who had an “unhealthy” and “unrealistic” infatuation had assassinated the singer during her meet and greet. 

From having a pen pal to being a part of an extracurricular activities club, young people have always had a need to connect and belong. In today’s increasingly digital dependent world, society has progressed to where it is necessary for adolescents to have outlets online such as platforms like Twitter, to act as an aid for them when it comes to forming friendships and finding companionships, to express their thoughts and feelings in a space where they feel comfortable in, amongst people of similar interests and stages in life. However, this is still a growing platform, and many user initiated features still lack regulation. At the same time, users on the platform are constantly reshaping the platform, using and consequently evolving it in different ways, making rules and regulations more arduous to establish and enforce. Therefore, it is important to keep investigating and monitoring Twitter users’ activities, as well as their perceptions of friendship and intimacy as they are being experienced through and reformed by the platform. 

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