Fan Culture as a Phenomenon of Media Behavior of Ukrainian Youth

Abstract

The manifestations of fanaticism in the behaviour of Ukrainian youth are revealed from the media-centric point of view. A survey of young people aged 18-35 from different regions of Ukraine was conducted; the results are qualitative. Given the importance of self-identification in media culture, the attitude of respondents to the concept of “fan” and the willingness to recognize themselves as a fan of a particular person (organization). It has been determined that fan behaviour does not necessarily correlate with hyper-consumption of information and is most strongly associated with the use of online resources. Active appeal to online resources and at the same time small expenses for attending offline events gives grounds to talk about online fanaticism as the dominant model of media behavior of Ukrainian youth. There were studied specifics of informational consumption about idols (periodicity, sources, formats, content satisfaction). There was a concluded list of attractive features that engage the audience to bright figures and ensure loyalty. For the respondents, idols are mentors and teachers. Their special abilities concentrate the audience’s attention, cause admiration, induce, if not actively, to imitate, then at least to follow.