title: Examining Perceived Distance and Personal Authenticity as Mediators of the Effects of Ghost-Tweeting on Parasocial Interaction.
abstract: A number of high-profile public figures hire ghost-tweeters to post to their social media accounts on their behalf, but no research has examined how this social media practice can affect followers' feelings of connection to the public figures. College students (n = 132) participated in an online experiment to examine the effect of ghost-tweeting practices on parasocial interaction (PSI) with social media figures. Tweet authorship (use of a ghost-tweeter or not) was manipulated. Ghost-tweeting resulted in reduced PSI. Perceptions of distance, but not personal authenticity mediated this effect. However, authenticity and distance did serially mediate the relationship between ghost-tweeting and PSI. These findings shed light on the process of PSI with celebrities and other media figures on social network sites.
authors.affiliation: Department of Communication Studies, West Virginia University , Morgantown, West Virginia.
authors.forename: Elizabeth L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.affiliation: Department of Communication Studies, West Virginia University , Morgantown, West Virginia.
authors.forename: William J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Tyler
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001319:Authorship; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D010465:Perception; D012929:Psychological Distance; D061108:Social Media; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult