dc.description.abstract | In recent years, the development of online live streaming has been rapidly growing, and the content of live broadcasts has become increasingly diverse. Against this backdrop of media transformation, VTubers, who transform themselves into virtual avatars and engage in real-time interaction and performance with their audiences on platforms, have gradually become a prominent trend in social media.
However, there is currently limited research on the attitudes of audiences towards VTubers compared to real-life live streamers. Therefore, this study employs the Tripartite Model of Media Enjoyment to examine enjoyment as an attitude of audiences towards both live streamers and live content. It explores the relationships between the affective, cognition, and behavioral reactions of audiences during or after live streaming and their enjoyment, as well as whether enjoyment influences their viewing intentions. Additionally, this study further extends its research in two additional aspects: First, it examines whether VTuber self-disclosure affects audience enjoyment (Research One). Second, it compares the differences in audience perception and experience when watching VTubers versus real-life streamers (Research Two).
A experimental approach is employed, designing a novel VTuber for a live streaming experiment, simultaneously conducting a real-life live stream, and collecting data through questionnaires, including VTuber self-disclosure. A total of 703 valid questionnaires were collected, and statistical analysis was performed to test the research hypotheses.
The findings reveal that:(1)Positive emotions, perceived physical attractiveness, self-consistency, and parasocial interaction with both VTubers and real-life live streamers have a positive impact on enjoyment.(2)VTuber self-disclosure has a moderating effect on the relationship between negative emotions, perceived physical attractiveness, and enjoyment.(3)Significant differences exist in positive and negative emotions, perceived physical attractiveness, perceived authenticity, parasocial interaction, enjoyment, and viewing intentions between VTuber and real-life live stream audiences.
This study contributes to the field in the following ways:(1)It advances our understanding of the process of VTuber audience enjoyment based on the Tripartite Model of Media Enjoyment, filling a knowledge gap in this area.(2)It extends the theoretical understanding of how self-disclosure functions as a moderating variable in affecting VTuber audience enjoyment.(3)It provides insights into audience experiences with different live streaming formats by comparing VTubers and real-life live streamers.(4)It introduces a new method for VTuber research by creating a novel VTuber for a live streaming experiment. | en_US |