Understanding parasocial relationships formed via social networking sites with Olympic athletes

The relationship will be explored between parasocial relationships, or parasocial interaction (PSI), with Olympic celebrity athletes and the use of different media. Participants can form strong feelings with well-known Olympic athletes and a seemingly existing relationship could be the result of increase social media, social networking site (SNS) activity with the athlete. This relationship is an important topic to research since many consumers are using social media for purchasing behavior. Celebrity athletes have such strong online presences that it allows them to market their corporate sponsors through the relationships developed with fans. Research questions that will be asked are: Does the strength of parasocial relationships vary with gender or type of celebrity? Does the media used to follow celebrities vary with gender or celebrity type? Does the intensity of the PSI effect increase with the intensity of different media use? Does the influence of media use on PSI vary between celebrity type?...