University of Wisconsin Milwaukee UWM Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations August 2016 Relationships to Video Game Streamers: Examining Gratifications, Parasocial Relationships, Fandom, and Community Affiliation Online Michael G. Blight University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.uwm.edu/etd Part of the Communication Technology and New Media Commons Recommended Citation Blight, Michael G., "Relationships to Video Game Streamers: Examining Gratifications, Parasocial Relationships, Fandom, and Community Affiliation Online" (2016). Theses and Dissertations. 1255. https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/1255 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by UWM Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UWM Digital Commons. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. RELATIONSHIPS TO VIDEO GAME STREAMERS: EXAMINING GRATIFICATIONS, PARASOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS, FANDOM, AND COMMUNITY AFFILIATION ONLINE by Michael George Blight A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Communication at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee August 2016 ABSTRACT RELATIONSHIPS TO VIDEO GAME STREAMERS: EXAMINING GRATIFICATIONS, PARASOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS, FANDOM, AND COMMUNITY AFFILIATION ONLINE by Michael George Blight The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2016 Under the Supervision of Professor Erin Ruppel Advances in media consumption and viewership have expanded the use of virtual communities such as streaming platforms (e.g., Twitch,tv, Azubu.tv, YouTube Gaming, AfreecaTV) and the ways individuals satisfy individual and social gratifications within these communities. Further, the connection viewers make with streamers as both fans and parasocially (i.e., a perceived friendship with media figure) has a number of implications for the communities that support them.