Reviewing Media Impact in Thai Politics: Parasocial Interaction and Authenticity

Main Article Content

Peerawat Tan-intaraarj

Abstract

This article builds upon prior studies to examine the connections between media exposure, parasocial interaction (PSI), and perceptions of political authenticity, emphasizing their impact on political efficacy. It highlights the role of media exposure in shaping political attitudes and the significance of PSI in fostering trust in government and media figures. The discussion explores factors contributing to perceptions of political authenticity, including ordinariness, consistency, and immediacy, which are influenced by media portrayals. Additionally, it underscores the motivating effect of traditional media and online social media on political engagement and efficacy. The article concludes by stressing the need for further research to understand how these dynamics operate within Thailand's evolving media landscape and their implications for informed democratic processes.

Article Details

How to Cite
Tan-intaraarj, P. (2024). Reviewing Media Impact in Thai Politics: Parasocial Interaction and Authenticity. HUSO Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 8(2), 239–253. retrieved from https://so06.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/husojournalpnru/article/view/276388
Section
บทความทางวิชาการ (Academic Article)

References

Akinola, O. A., Omar, B., & Mustapha, L. K. (2022). Corruption in the limelight: The relative influence of traditional mainstream and social

media on political trust in Nigeria. International Journal of Communication, 16, 22.

Ashraf, A., Hameed, I., & Saeed, S. A. (2023). How do social media influencers inspire consumers' purchase decisions? The mediating

role of parasocial relationships. International Journal of Consumer Studies. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12917

Audrezet, A., De Kerviler, G., & Moulard, J. G. (2020). Authenticity under threat: When social media influencers need to go beyond self-

presentation. Journal of business research, 117, 557-569. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.07.008

Aw, E. C. X., & Labrecque, L. I. (2020). Celebrity endorsement in social media contexts: understanding the role of parasocial interactions

and the need to belong. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 37(7), 895-908. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106610

Baker, Z. G., Tou, R. Y., Bryan, J. L., & Knee, C. (2017). Authenticity and well-being: Exploring positivity and negativity in interactions as a

mediator. Personality and Individual Differences, 113, 235-239. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.PAID.2017.03.018

Balaban, D. C., & Szambolics, J. (2022). A proposed model of self-perceived authenticity of social media influencers. Media and

Communication, 10(1), 235-246. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v10i1.4765

Bond, B. J. (2018). Parasocial relationships with media personae: Why they matter and how they differ among heterosexual, lesbian,

gay, and bisexual adolescents. Media Psychology, 21(3), 457-485. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2017.1416295

Boulianne, S. (2019). Building faith in democracy: Deliberative events, political trust and efficacy. Political Studies, 67(1), 4-30.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0032321718761466

Carù, A., Ostillio, M. C., & Leone, G. (2017). Corporate museums to enhance brand authenticity in luxury goods companies: The case of

Salvatore Ferragamo. International Journal of Arts Management, 32-45.

Chang, K., & Park, J. (2021). Social media use and participation in dueling protests: The case of the 2016–2017 presidential corruption

scandal in South Korea. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 26(3), 547-567. https://doi.org/10.1177/1940161220940962

Dekavalla, M. (2020). Gaining trust: the articulation of transparency by You Tube fashion and beauty content creators. Media, Culture &

Society, 42(1), 75-92. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443719846613

de Vreese, C. H., & Neijens, P. (2016). Measuring media exposure in a changing communications environment. Communication Methods

and Measures, 10(2-3), 69-80. https://doi.org/10.1080/19312458.2016.1150441

Dunn, S. G. S., & Nisbett, G. S. (2014). Parasocial interactions online: candidate intimacy in webpages and Facebook. The Journal of

Social Media in Society, 3(2).

Fazli-Salehi, R., Jahangard, M., Torres, I. M., Madadi, R., & Zúñiga, M. Á. (2022). Social media reviewing channels: the role of channel

interactivity and vloggers’ self-disclosure in consumers’ parasocial interaction. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 39(2), 242-253.

https://doi.org/10.1108/JCM-06-2020-3866

Friedman, E., & Kampf, Z. (2020). ‘To thine own self be true’: The perceived meanings and functions of political consistency. Language in

Society, 49(1), 89-113. doi:10.1017/S004740451900068X

Gershon, R., & Smith, R. K. (2020). Twice-told tales: Self-repetition decreases observer assessments of performer authenticity. Journal of

Personality and Social Psychology, 118(2), 307–324. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000183

Graf, M. (2022). The Bipartisan Media Strategy: How Three Ideologically Different Candidates Found Success. Comm-entary, 18(1), 10.

Haobin Ye, B., Fong, L. H. N., & Luo, J. M. (2021). Parasocial interaction on tourism companies’ social media sites: antecedents and

consequences. Current Issues in Tourism, 24(8), 1093-1108. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2020.1764915

Hoewe, J., & Sherrill, L. A. (2019). The influence of female lead characters in political TV shows: Links to political engagement. Journal of

Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 63(1), 59–76. https://doi.org/10.1080/08838151.2019.1570782

Holtz-Bacha, C. (2022). Strategic Political Authenticity: How Populists Construct an Authentic Image. In Cultures of Authenticity (pp. 273-

. Emerald Publishing Limited.

Horton, D., & Wohl, R. R. (1956). Mass communication and para-social interaction: Observations on intimacy at a distance. Interpersonal

and Biological Processes, 19(3), 215-229. https://doi.org/10.1080/00332747.1956.11023049

Ibenskas, R., & Polk, J. (2022). Party responsiveness to public opinion in young democracies. Political Studies, 70(4), 919-938.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0032321721993635

Jamieson, K. H., & Waldman, P. (2003). The press effect: Politicians, journalists, and the stories that shape the political world. Oxford

University Press.

Jarzyna, C. L. (2021). Parasocial interaction, the COVID-19 quarantine, and digital age media. Human Arenas, 4(3), 413-429.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s42087-020-00156-0

Knobloch-Westerwick, S., Mothes, C., & Polavin, N. (2020). Confirmation bias, ingroup bias, and negativity bias in selective exposure to

political information. Communication research, 47(1), 104-124. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650217719596

Knoll, J., Matthes, J., & Heiss, R. (2020). The social media political participation model: A goal systems theory perspective. Convergence,

(1), 135-156. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354856517750366

Lee, E. J., Oh, S. Y., Lee, J., & Kim, H. S. (2018). Up close and personal on social media: When do politicians’ personal disclosures enhance

vote intention?. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 95(2), 381-403. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077699018754911

Lee, Y., & Min, Y. (2020). Attribute agenda setting and affective priming in a South Korean election: How media descriptions of candidate

attributes affect political decision-making. Asian Journal of Communication, 30(1), 20–38. https://doi.org/10.10

/01292986.2019.1688364

Lehman, D. W., O'Connor, K., Kovács, B., & Newman, G. E. (2019). Authenticity. The Academy of Management Annals, 13(1), 1–42.

https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2017.0047

Lindholm, C. (2008). Culture and authenticity. Blackwell.

Liu, P. L. (2023). Parasocial relationship in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: A moderated mediation model of digital media

exposure on political trust among Chinese young people. Computers in Human Behavior, 141, 107639.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107639

Luebke, S. M. (2021). Political authenticity: Conceptualization of a popular term. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 26(3), 635-

https://doi.org/10.1177/1940161220948013

Luebke, S. M., & Engelmann, I. (2023). Perceiving politicians as true to themselves: Development and validation of the perceived political

authenticity scale. Plos one, 18(5), e0285344. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0285344

Li, W., Ding, H., Xu, G., & Yang, J. (2023). The Impact of Fitness Influencers on a Social Media Platform on Exercise Intention during the

COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Parasocial Relationships. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(2),

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20021113

McCombs, M. E., & Becker, L. B. (1979). Using mass communication theory. Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Nah, H. S. (2022). The appeal of “real” in parasocial interaction: the effect of self-disclosure on message acceptance via perceived

authenticity and liking. Computers in Human Behavior, 134, 107330. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107330

Patllollu, R. (2023). The Presence of Political parasocial interaction in the Websites of US Senators. Journal of Student Research, 12(1).

https://doi.org/10.47611/jsrhs.v12i1.3877

Pillow, D. R., Crabtree, M. A., Galvan, M. J., & Hale, W. J. (2018). Not simply in the eye of the beholder: Authenticity as a product of

candidate preference and unfettered speech. Political Psychology, 39(4), 849-868. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.1244

PPTVHD36. (2023, April 13). เลือกตั้ง 2566: ตั้งแต่ยุบสภาพรรคไหนใช้โซเชียลสื่อสารกับประชาชนมากสุด? [Election 2023: Which political party

utilized social media communication with the public the most since the dissolution of parliament? - English Translation].

https://www.pptvhd36.com/news/การเมือง/194324

Rosenblum, M., Schroeder, J., & Gino, F. (2020). Tell it like it is: When politically incorrect language promotes authenticity. Journal of

Personality and Social Psychology, 119(1), 75–103. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000206

Rothschild, Z. K., Keefer, L. A., & Hauri, J. (2021). Defensive partisanship? Evidence that in‐party scandals increase out‐party hostility.

Political Psychology, 42(1), 3-21. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12680

Rubin, R. B., & McHugh, M. P. (1987). Development of parasocial interaction relationships. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media,

(3), 279-292. https://doi.org/10.1080/08838158709386664

Schwarzenegger, C. (2023). Understanding the users of alternative news media—Media epistemologies, news consumption, and media

practices. Digital Journalism, 11(5), 853-871. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2021.2000454

Shen, B. (2020). Creating a parasocial relationship on social media: luxury brands playing cute in China. Asian Journal of

Communication, 30(6), 494-514. https://doi.org/10.1080/01292986.2020.1840601

Shoenberger, H., Kim, E. A., & Johnson, E. K. (2020). # BeingReal about Instagram ad models: The effects of perceived authenticity: How

image modification of female body size alters advertising attitude and buying intention. Journal of Advertising Research, 60(2), 197-

https://doi.org/10.2501/JAR-2019-035

Sinpeng, A. (2020). Digital media, political authoritarianism, and Internet controls in Southeast Asia. Media, Culture & Society, 42(1), 25-

https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443719884052

Slater, M. D. (2004). Operationalizing and analyzing exposure: The foundation of media effects research. Journalism & Mass

Communication Quarterly, 81(1), 168-183. https://doi.org/10.1177/107769900408100112

Slothuus, R., & Bisgaard, M. (2021). How political parties shape public opinion in the real world. American Journal of Political Science,

(4), 896-911. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12550

Stiers, D., Larner, J., Kenny, J., Breitenstein, S., Vallée-Dubois, F., & Lewis-Beck, M. (2021). Candidate authenticity: “to thine own self be

true.” Political Behavior, 43, 1181–1204. https:// doi.org/10.1007/s11109-019-09589-y

Tan-intaraarj, P. (2021, May). Celebrities Influence Public Opinion: Applying Celebrity Political Endorsement through Meaning Transfer

Theory. In DPU International Conference on Business Innovation and Social Sciences 2021 (pp. 124-131). Dhurakij Pundit University.

Tan-intaraarj, P., & Pornsakulvanich, V. (2021). The study of Japanese Idol in Thailand: The impact of interpersonal attraction and

parasocial interaction on parasocial relationships and attitude homophily. Journal of Communication and Management NIDA (e-

Journal), 7(3), 1-19.

Thai PBS. (2023, May 25). เลือกตั้ง2566: "แฟนด้อมการเมือง" ตัวละครใหม่ในเวทีการเมืองไทย [Election 2023: "Political Fan Domains" - A New

Character on the Thai Political Stage – English Translation]. https://www.thaipbs.or.th/news/content/328185

Thorson, K., Cotter, K., Medeiros, M., & Pak, C. (2021). Algorithmic inference, political interest, and exposure to news and politics on

Facebook. Information, Communication & Society, 24(2), 183-200. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2019.1642934

Um, N. (2017). Effectiveness of celebrity endorsement of a political candidate among young voters. Social Behavior and Personality: an

international journal, 45(9), 1425-1436. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.6163

Um, N. (2022). Impact of parasocial interaction, perceived ad message authenticity, and match-up between brand and celebrity in

evaluation of Instagram celebrity-based brand endorsement. Sustainability, 14(5), 2928. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052928

Valgarðsson, V. O., Clarke, N., Jennings, W., & Stoker, G. (2021). The good politician and political trust: An authenticity gap in British

politics?. Political Studies, 69(4), 858-880. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032321720928257