“You Are All Loved so Much”
Exploring Relational Maintenance Within the Context of Parasocial Relationships
Abstract
This research explores relational maintenance within the context of parasocial relationships. The New Kids on the Block (NKOTB), one of the most popular musical groups in the late 1980s and early 1990s, abruptly disbanded in 1994. In 2008, after a 14-year hiatus, the band announced their reformation. Members of NKOTB blogged about their reunion on the group’s website (www.nkotb.com), and a thematic analysis was conducted, using both deductive and inductive procedures, of 2,122 postings by audience members to these blog entries. Analysis revealed that audience members utilized, in various ways, both positivity and assurance maintenance strategies (Canary, Stafford, Hause, & Wallace, 1993). The results suggest that audience members enacted relational maintenance to express support for NKOTB and to demonstrate that they had remained committed to their parasocial relationship with NKOTB, despite the group’s absence. These actions positively reinforced NKOTB’s decision to reunite and conveyed fans’ desire for NKOTB’s return to be permanent. Thus, similar to actual social relationships, relational maintenance also functions within parasocial relationships and merits further research attention.
References
(2007). Inappropriate parental divorce disclosures, the factors that prompt them, and their impact on parents’ and adolescents’ well-being. Communication Monographs, 74(1), 78–102.
(2000). Development and validation of a parasocial interaction measure: The audience-persona interaction scale. Communication Research Reports, 17(1), 45–56.
(1983). Strategies to maintain relationships: Their identification and perceived usage. Communication Quarterly, 31, 62–67.
(2004). Audience involvement and its antecedents: An analysis of the electronic bulletin board messages about an entertainment-education drama on divorce in Korea. Asian Journal of Communication, 14(1), 6–21.
(2008). Attachment style, marital satisfaction, commitment, and communal strength effects on relational repair message interpretation among remarrieds. Communication Quarterly, 56(1), 1–16.
(2003). Attachment style differences in relational maintenance and conflict behaviors: Friends’ perceptions. Communication Reports, 16, 113–123.
(1998). Transforming qualitative information: Thematic analysis and code development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
(2005). An integrative theory of intergroup contact. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 37, 255–343.
(1992). Relational maintenance strategies and equity in marriage. Communication Monographs, 59, 243–267.
(1993). An inductive analysis of relational maintenance strategies: Comparisons among lovers, relatives, friends, and others. Communication Research Reports, 10(1), 5–14.
(2009). Media dependence and relational maintenance in interpersonal relationships. Communication Reports, 22(1), 41–53.
(2003). Parasocial breakups: Measuring individual differences in responses to the dissolution of parasocial relationships. Mass Communication and Society, 6, 191–202.
(2004). Parasocial break-up from favorite television characters: The role of attachment styles and relationship intensity. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 21, 187–202.
(2008, January 29). This one’s for the (former) children: New Kids on the Block, Donnie, Danny, Joey, Jordan and Jon set to return. The National Post. Retrieved on June 27, 2008, from the Lexis-Nexis Academic Database.
(1990). Interaction dynamics of relational negotiation: Reconciliation versus termination of distressed relationships. Western Journal of Communication, 54, 429–453.
(1999). A template approach to text analysis: Developing and using codebooks. In , Doing qualitative research (pp. 163–177). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
(2008). The use of negative behaviors to maintain relationships. Communication Research Reports, 25, 179–191.
(2003). Training the next generation of media researchers. Mass Communication and Society, 6(1), 244–264.
(1988). Relating to others. Chicago: Dorsey Press.
(2006). When good “Friends” say goodbye: A parasocial breakup study. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 50, 502–523.
(2006). Demonstrating rigor using thematic analysis: A hybrid approach of inductive and deductive coding and theme development. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 5(1), 1–11.
(2005). Human affection exchange: VII. Further evidence of the benefits of expressed affection. Communication Quarterly, 53, 285–303.
(2002). Parasocial interaction: A review of the literature and a model for future research. Media Psychology, 4, 279–305.
(1997). Parasocial interaction with people on the screen. In , New horizons in media psychology: Research cooperation and projects in Europe (pp. 35–55). Opladen, Germany: Westdeutscher Verlag.
(2008, April 5). Around the block again for New Kids, fans boy band reunion hits area in May. The Boston Globe. Retrieved on June 27, 2008, from the Lexis-Nexis Academic database.
(2005). Relational maintenance in cross-sex friendships characterized by different types of romantic intent: An exploratory study. Western Journal of Communication, 69, 339–358.
(1993). Linking maintenance strategies to relationship development and disengagement: A reconceptualization. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 10, 273–283.
(2008, June 7). New Kids, forever again! Billboard.com. Retrieved on June 27, 2008, from the Lexis-Nexis Academic database.
(2007). Keeping quiet: Self-silencing and its association with relational and individual functioning among adolescent romantic couples. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 24(1), 99–116.
(2008). Positive parasocial relationships with drivers affects suspense in racing sport spectators. Journal of Media Psychology, 20, 24–34.
(2004). The effects of loneliness on relational maintenance behaviors: An attributional perspective. Communication Research Reports, 21, 411–419.
(1956). Mass communication and para-social interaction. Psychiatry, 19, 215–229.
(2001). The connubial crucible: Newlywed years as predictors of marital delight, distress, and divorce. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80, 237–252.
(
in press ). “Is this a church? Such a big bunch of believers around here!”: Fan expressions of social support on Floydlandis.com. Journal of Communication Studies.(2005). Some like it bad: Testing a model for perceiving and experiencing fictional characters. Media Psychology, 7, 107–144.
(2008). Mediated interpersonal communication. New York: Taylor & Francis/Routledge.
(2008, May 16). Name that band! But please pick something that will last. USA Today. Retrieved on June 27, 2008, from the Lexis-Nexis Academic database.
(2008, January 27). New Kids still got the right stuff? New York Daily News. Retrieved on June 27, 2008, from the Lexis-Nexis Academic database.
(2003). A cognitive profile of individuals who tend to worship celebrities. Journal of Psychology, 137, 309–322.
(2008). Interpersonal communication motives as a predictor of early and middle adult siblings’ use of relational maintenance behaviors. Communication Research Reports, 25, 155–167.
. (2008, April 4). New Kids on the Block announce reunion. Retrieved on June 27, 2008, from the Lexis-Nexis Academic database.
Official NKOTB website. www.nkotb.com
(1995). A re-examination of relational repair and reconciliation: Impact of socio-communicative style on strategy selection. Communication Research Reports, 12, 235–240.
(2008, February 15). Off their blocks, out there. Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved on June 27, 2008, from the Lexis-Nexis Academic database.
(2007). Relational maintenance and the influence of commitment in online and offline relationships. Communication Studies, 58, 315–337.
(2001). Commitment and relationship maintenance mechanisms. In , Close romantic relationships: Maintenance and enhancement (pp. 87–113). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
(2006). Consumers, characters, and products. Journal of Advertising, 35(1), 7–21.
(2008a). “You are the type of person that children should look up to as a hero”: Parasocial interaction on 38pitches.com. International Journal of Sport Communication, 1, 337–360.
(2008b). Spreading the word: Emphatic interaction displays on BlogMaverick.com. Journal of Media Psychology: Theories, Methods, and Applications, 20, 157–168.
(1986). The effects of relationship type, partner intent, and gender on the selection of relationship maintenance strategies. Communication Monographs, 53, 354–364.
(2008). Couples go online: Relational maintenance and relational characteristics use in dating relationships. Human Communication, 11, 341–355.
(2008, January 29). New kids come back as blokes. The Sun (England). Retrieved on June 27, 2008, from the Lexis-Nexis Academic database.
(2007). Hidden persuasions in soap operas: Damaged heroines and negative consumer effects. International Journal of Advertising, 26(1), 9–36.
(1996). Compensatory media use: An exploration of two paradigms. Communication Studies, 47, 89–109.
(2009). The effects of instant messaging on the quality of adolescents’ existing friendships: A longitudinal study. Journal of Communication, 59(1), 79–97.
(2008). Relational maintenance, satisfaction, and commitment in marriages: An actor-partner analysis. Journal of Family Communication, 8, 219–229.
(2009). Relational commitment and the silent treatment. Communication Research Reports, 26(1), 12–21.
(2008, May 16). Oh boy! It’s NKOTB ‘today’. Old fans line up around the block for New Kids reunion. New York Daily News. Retrieved on June 27, 2008, from the Lexis-Nexis Academic database.
(2007). Associations among attachment style, maintenance strategies, and relational quality across cultures. Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, 36, 71–89.
