ENGAGING GLADIATORS: AN ANALYSIS OF THE MOTIVATIONS OF SCANDAL’S TWITTER AUDIENCE
Open Access
- Author:
- Kensinger, Lyndsay A
- Graduate Program:
- Communications
- Degree:
- Master of Arts
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- October 17, 2018
- Committee Members:
- Nakho Kim, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Peter Jones Kareithi, Committee Member
Catherine Anne Rios, Committee Member - Keywords:
- Twitter
Live Tweeting
Scandal
Motivations - Abstract:
- Second screen use while watching television has steadily increased, while live-television viewing is declining (Consumer Technology Association, 2017). To combat this trend and encourage live viewing, television networks are using Twitter to interact with television audiences to encourage live viewing practice. Alongside the changing television viewing landscape is the recent public recognition of the sometimes insidious usage of social media by corporations, which has ignited a societal critical analysis of our social media engagement practices. Following the heavy utilization of social media during the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, users began to publicly question the legitimacy of social media content, the content creators, and what they thought they knew to be reliable sources for information. In 2018, ABC’s hit drama Scandal ended after seven seasons on the network after ushering in a new social television era that show creators helped to construct by integrating Twitter into the American political thriller’s marketing plan, offering viewers a new, enhanced viewing experience. This engagement modification not only increased viewership, but additionally earned an audience once dubbed the most loyal on Twitter (Nielsen Social, 2015). The trending reduction of live television viewing, combined with the recent cultural critical analysis of our adoption and utilization of social media, makes what happened with Scandal a unique phenomenon worth exploring. This analysis aims to explore the motivations for Scandal’s audience to tweet while watching the program live by analyzing survey responses of 109 Scandal viewers who engaged on Twitter while watching the show. Drawing on the concepts of power relations, the creation of meaning, and convergence culture, this analysis examines the mechanics of the producer/fan relationship to see if any conclusions can be made regarding the motivations behind fans engaging in live-tweeting practices. The findings and patterns found in Scandal’s public sphere offer unique insights into how the convergence of even the most serious political discourses can become Twitter-mediated pseudo-entertainment.