THE RISE OF K-POP FANS ON SOCIAL MEDIA: FANATICISM OR SELF-DISCOVERY?
Abstract
The diverse features provided by the social media platform Instagram significantly enhance its
appeal, establishing it as an attractive medium for users to develop social networks. This
includes facilitating parasocial interactions between fans and their idols, who are often public
figures such as actresses. A prominent example is the boy band Bangtan Boys (BTS), whose
official Instagram account enables global fan interactions without temporal limitations. This
study aims to elucidate the communicative acts within virtual spaces and their associated
meanings, while also analyzing the underlying motives that drive fans to engage in parasocial
interactions.. Employing a qualitative methodology with a virtual ethnography approach, the
study utilized virtual observation and interviews as data collection techniques. The findings
reveal that ARMY members actively engage in parasocial interactions through the official BTS
Instagram account. These interactions give rise to distinct communication behaviors among
fans, categorized into groups such as ARMY shippers, ARMY solo stans, ARMY defenders,
ARMY Positive Vibes, ARMY Emoji, and ARMY Akgae. Additionally, the observed
communication behaviors result from the construction of meaning through symbolic exchanges.
The symbolic meanings embedded in these interactions include representations of balance and
completeness through paired interactions, the portrayal of idols as role models, expressions of
intense devotion, and the symbolism of fans as approachable and empathetic. Finally, the
parasocial interactions of BTS K-Pop fans, apart from showing their fanaticism towards their
idols, can also be interpreted as a process of self-discovery for adolescents