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Introduction
Introduction
One of the biggest industries in the world as of now is the film/media making industry. Specifically, the emergence of streaming services has helped TV shows flourish. As viewers increase and interact with these shows, it is important to identify the growing emotions viewers feel with characters belonging to the series. These one-way relationships with viewers and fictional characters are called parasocial relationships. Parasocial relationships are the concept that relationships extend beyond the physical, yet have similar characteristics to that of a real interpersonal relationship (Cohen, 2003). This research aims to identify how the ending of these relationships is impacted based on binge watching and gender.
Instrument
Instrument
The method best suitable for collecting data regarding this study is through survey. Survey has been a consistent method throughout previous parasocial relationship studies. Rosaen & Dibble (2008) survey children ages 5-12, presenting them with a likert style scale asking questions regarding how much they like a specific TV character. This theme was adopted for this study, where participants are presented with a Likert scale using questions developed from the experience of parasocial interaction scale (Hartmann & Goldhoorn, 2011). The experience of parasocial interaction scale (EPSI) is used to derive how strong each parasocial relationship is. In this study, it is used to measure parasocial intensity with viewers of fictional TV characters. Survey is the most commonly used method among parasocial relationship studies, and is necessary for highest validity of data due to its need for varied experiences amongst viewers.
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Participants
Participants
Convenience and snowball sampling was used as distribution methods. The researcher posted the link to the survey on their Instagram and Snapchat pages. The survey was also sent to previous organizations that the researcher had work experience with. The researcher also had connections with a non-profit marathon running organization that allowed the posting of the survey on their site. The researcher used whatever outlets they had connections to making it most convenient for response gathering. Snowball sampling was also encouraged with participants to either retake the survey as there were multiple paths participants could take, or to spread the word to more friends and family.
Survey Structure
Survey Structure
Once screening questions were passed, participants were then posed with main questions that pertained to the research questions. Once the character participants had the greatest connection to was identified, 3-4 main questions were posed depending on the character, along with a series of questions regarding a clip they were just shown. These questions were created to support or contradict the research questions. First, following the clip, the participant was presented with the EPSI scale to measure their parasocial interaction (Hartmann & Goldhoorn, 2011). This was necessary in order to measure how the participant is affected or not affected by binge watching as it pertains to their relationship with the character.
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