Research On Fan Culture In The Era Of New Media

This study is a systematic, comprehensive research of fans in the new media with amethodology of ethnography including online participant observation and depth interview,from the standpoint of current situation and influence of fans and fans-culture of new mediaenvironment.The introductory note of this paper makes a brief introduction of the origin andsignificance of this research, reuniting the achievements of fans research from home andabroad. The introductory note also explains relevant words of this research, which willcontribute to the latter research.Starting with the individual of fans and new ways of individual identification, theresearch finds that in cyberspace, one individual fan owns more than one identification. Andinfluenced by social media such as micro-blog, the concept of fans is also broadened.Pointed and gathered by the name of fans, the fans group forms a universal set of rules.Fans set up an integrate organization where there is organizers and administrators in therelatively closed virtual fans community. In that community, fans conductindividual-individual, individual-community, community-community as well ascommunity-idol fans-cultural practices. The rise of social media such as micro blog providesthe fans and idols with a new approach of communication, during which both the fans andidols get what they wants and achieves win-win situation. social media also offers the mediaenvironment of development of a new fans group, political fans, allowing them to appearbefore people with a new image.This research will discuss the significance and influence of fan culture of new mediaenvironment from two standpoints. One is individual influence, the other cultural influence.This research will also reflect and criticize the problem of fans culture: first, fans culture willhelp the full development of human being; second, fans culture will influence popular culture,mainstream culture and political culture, at last this paper will give points of view and advicesto problems of losing self and the substandard behavior during the individual and communitypractice of fans culture.