Practices of Interaction Between Russian Celebrities and Fans in Telegram Public Channels

This study focuses on examining the interaction practices between Russian celebrities and fans in Telegram public channels. Technological advancements have enabled many communicative processes to transition to the online environment, including interactions between celebrities and their fans. Social networks allow celebrities to establish more direct communication with their audience and provide fans with the opportunity to follow the lives of celebrities in real time. Current restrictions on the use of major international social platforms narrow the scope of research on interactions between Russian celebrities and their fans to widely accessible platforms in Russia. Recent research on media consumption among Russians indicates that, over the past year, Telegram has become the social platform with the highest average daily population reach among Russian users. Researchers approach the examination of such online interactions between celebrities and fans through various processes and phenomena: parasocial relationships, participatory culture, value co-creation and fans engagement, as well as celebrities’ self-presentation. There is an ongoing academic debate regarding the effects of self-disclosure strategies and the construction of intimacy performed by celebrities. The aim of this study is to identify the characteristics and role of celebrity communication strategies in shaping interaction practices between Russian celebrities and fans in Telegram public channels. Using a multimethod qualitative approach that employs netnography and in-depth interviews, the study examined four Telegram channels of various Russian celebrities. The results of this research provide a deep understanding of the use of the Telegram platform for interpersonal interaction between Russian celebrities and their fans, as well as identifying practices characteristic of such interactions.