The acceptability of celebrities in political contributions from the perspective of young social media audiences

Subject Areas : Sociological Studies of Youth

Mohammad Javad Esmaili ¹ , Abolghasem Heidarabadi ² , Manouchehr Pahlavan ³

1 - PhD student in Political Sociology, Babol Branch, Islamic Azad University, Babol, Iran
2 - Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Babol Branch, Islamic Azad University, Babol, Iran
3 - Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Babol Branch, Islamic Azad University, Babol, Iran

Received: 2024-05-04 Accepted : 2024-11-17 Published : 2024-02-08

Keywords: Fame, celebrity, political and social participation, social networks, youth.,

Abstract :

In the lives of all influential people (celebrities), there are relationships that are in the form of an infinite accumulation of performances. In such a way that they bring the role of a new world to the realm of society; and as a model of "identity formation" they enter the public arena. Celebrities unify and explain a wide variety of apparent phenomena; therefore, interdisciplinary studies of culture, society, and digital science are important. The diversity and contrast of these phenomena are the appearances of that socially organized appearance that itself must be recognized in its total truth. Therefore, the initial hypothesis of the article states that celebrities are elites with power and influence in society; they enjoy the acceptance of social and political activities, which are not legal and legitimate; therefore, they should not be active in their non-specialized fields. Considering the objectives of determining the characteristics of influential people for modeling, and showing the power and influence of celebrities and the practical application of the research results, the research method is "content analysis", because the mutual effects of mass communication require this specific technique. The method of collecting data from selected Iranian celebrities on the social network Instagram is using participatory observation and includes reading virtual content (comments and publications). Also, a qualitative method was used to analyze the data and to explain the cause and effect relationship between the data, the impact of various factors on the behavior of celebrities was analyzed. Therefore, what is established as a result of the investigation is the lack of acceptance of celebrities in political and social activity from the perspective of the people. Celebrities, as "elite" with power and influence in society, do not enjoy the general acceptance of political participation among the audience, and their political activities are not legal and legitimate; But celebrities, as a "reference group," have the right to participate in "social activities" alongside the public.

 

References:

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