Online Celebrity Bashing: Wrecking Ball or Good for You? Adolescent Girls’ Attitudes Toward the Media and Public Bashing of Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez |
| |
| Authors: | Gaëlle Ouvrein Sara Pabian Juan Manuel Machimbarrena Charlotte JS De Backer Heidi Vandebosch |
| |
| Institution: | 1. Ga?lle Ouvrein (MA, K.U. Leuven, 2015) is a doctoral researcher in the Department of Communication Studies, research group MIOS (Media, ICT, and Interpersonal Relations in Organizations and Society) at the University of Antwerp (Belgium). Her research concentrates on the influence of negative celebrity news on adolescents’ online behaviors. Sara Pabian (PhD, University of Antwerp, 2015) is a halftime Assistant Professor and halftime Postdoc Researcher at the Department of Communication Studies, research group MIOS (Media, ICT, and Interpersonal Relations In Organisations and Society) at the University of Antwerp (Belgium). The focus of her research is on media use and (online) aggression. Juan Manuel Machimbarrena (PhD, University of the Basque Country, 2017) currently works as a postdoctoral researcher at Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR). His research revolves around bullying, cyberbullying, personal and family variables, and the use of new technologies. Charlotte De Backer (PhD, University of Ghent, 2005) is assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Antwerp (Belgium). She is also a member of MIOS (Media, ICT, and Interpersonal Relations in Organizations and Society), and her current research areas are situated in the domains of gossip research, celebrity studies, and social food studies. Heidi Vandebosch (PhD, K.U. Leuven, 1999) is a professor in the Department of Communication Studies of the University of Antwerp (Belgium). Her research focuses on cyberbullying among children and adolescents (prevalence, profiles of bullies and victims, impact, and evidence-based interventions). She is also a member of MIOS (Media, ICT, and Interpersonal Relations in Organizations and Society).gaelle.ouvrein@uantwerpen.be;3. Ga?lle Ouvrein (MA, K.U. Leuven, 2015) is a doctoral researcher in the Department of Communication Studies, research group MIOS (Media, ICT, and Interpersonal Relations in Organizations and Society) at the University of Antwerp (Belgium). Her research concentrates on the influence of negative celebrity news on adolescents’ online behaviors. Sara Pabian (PhD, University of Antwerp, 2015) is a halftime Assistant Professor and halftime Postdoc Researcher at the Department of Communication Studies, research group MIOS (Media, ICT, and Interpersonal Relations In Organisations and Society) at the University of Antwerp (Belgium). The focus of her research is on media use and (online) aggression. Juan Manuel Machimbarrena (PhD, University of the Basque Country, 2017) currently works as a postdoctoral researcher at Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR). His research revolves around bullying, cyberbullying, personal and family variables, and the use of new technologies. Charlotte De Backer (PhD, University of Ghent, 2005) is assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Antwerp (Belgium). She is also a member of MIOS (Media, ICT, and Interpersonal Relations in Organizations and Society), and her current research areas are situated in the domains of gossip research, celebrity studies, and social food studies. Heidi Vandebosch (PhD, K.U. Leuven, 1999) is a professor in the Department of Communication Studies of the University of Antwerp (Belgium). Her research focuses on cyberbullying among children and adolescents (prevalence, profiles of bullies and victims, impact, and evidence-based interventions). She is also a member of MIOS (Media, ICT, and Interpersonal Relations in Organizations and Society). |
| |
| Abstract: | Journalists and readers of celebrity news regularly bash celebrities online, a behavior that is easily accepted among adolescents. This study investigates whether these attitudes of acceptance differ according to the perpetrator of the bashing (media versus public) and the likeability of the involved celebrity (liked versus disliked). Using a vignette study, we examine adolescent girls’ attitudes toward media (journalists’) and public (readers’) bashing of a generally disliked celebrity (Miley Cyrus) and a generally liked celebrity (Selena Gomez). All participants read an identical negative news story (media bashing) and two related negative reader comments (public bashing). Participants were randomly assigned to read this information about either Miley Cyrus or Selena Gomez. Results of a mixed-design ANOVA showed that the girls had less negative attitudes toward media bashing compared with public bashing. Moreover, they more easily accepted the bashing of a disliked celebrity than the bashing of a liked celebrity. |
| |
| Keywords: | Celebrities Celebrity Bashing Miley Cyrus Online Aggression Selena Gomez |
|
|
