Symbol,Consumption And Emotion:A Study On The Value Co-Creation Of Virtual Idol Fan Communities

With the vigorous development of the two-dimension culture and the growing strength of the two-dimension group,China’s virtual idol industry is gradually emerging.As a landmark product of media technology development and cultural integration,virtual idol attracts the young people of Generation Z.Among them,the fan group of virtual idol is a special group,they are both consumers and creators.Through the interaction and communication with the virtual idol and other fans,the fans in the community jointly create more value,which includes the recognition,identification,emotional investment of the virtual idol and the promotion and development of the entire virtual idol industry chain.This is in stark contrast to the real idol fan base in real life,which also makes more and more people interested in the fan base behind the virtual idol.In this paper,case study method,participatory observation method,in-depth interview method and other methods to analyze the background of creating virtual idol fan community,who are the participants in creating it? How do they and the fan groups achieve co-creation,as well as the emotional value generated by the fans in co-creation.The research findings of this paper include the following three aspects.First,the background of creating the value of virtual idol fan community is the development of Internet technology and the strong expression demands of fan community.The devel opment of Internet technology provides a place for the fan community to communicate and interact.Its openness features activate individual energy,and the creativity of users empowered by the Internet is awakened.Moreover,the fan groups of virtual idols have a strong expression appeal,prompting them to produce and create.Secondly,the value co-creation of the virtual idol fan community is mainly reflected in the production value and economic value.The UGC model of virtual idol enables fans to play their subjective initiative to create and complete the creation of fans.It mainly includes fans’ participation in the design of the virtual image,the creation of the idol and the adaptation and production of the text.In addition,in order to express their love and support for their idols,fans of virtual idols will also consume in different ways and become members of the ecology of the virtual idol industry,driving the economic development of the virtual idol industry.Thirdly,the virtual idol fan community will also gain emotional value in the process of co-creation.Such as a sense of belonging,self-actualization,companionship and empathy.However,since virtual idols are virtual and do not exist in the real world,a series of problems will occur when fans invest too much emotion in virtual idols,which requires idol,producer,media and fans to take measures to create a better interactive at mosphere for the further development of virtual idols.