The Research on the Role of “Abstract Culture” in the Composition of Chinese Virtual Streamer Fans’ Culture --Taking A-SOUL as an Example
Abstract
The rapid development of the virtual streamer industry in China in recent years has caused extensive discussions in Chinese Mainstream media. As a corporate virtual streamer group jointly launched by two entertainment giants called ByteDance and YH ENTERTAINMENT, A-SOUL has received widespread concern from many fields in Chinese society. This paper starts from the perspective of Social Identity theory and analyzes the frequent words on the bullet-screen sent by A-SOUL fans in live-streamings as well as the popular comments of A-SOUL related videos, which in order to explore the role of the emerging online language “abstract words” and the abstract culture behind them in the fan culture of Chinese virtual steamer. The study found that A-SOUL’s fans has used “abstract words” to increase exposure for the virtual streamer group, to vent their emotions and to satisfy their own sense of in-group identity. Abstract culture plays an important role in the cultural composition of virtual streamer fans, which has practical significance for the study of Chinese Internet subcultures and emerging online language trends.
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