Date of Award
Spring 2023
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Media & Communication; College of Arts & Sciences
First Advisor
Lisa Holderman
Abstract
With the rise of the Internet and constant sharing comes new ways of interacting with people both as audience members and content creators. Because of this, it has now become increasingly easier to connect with and manipulate people through a screen, especially if one is in a position of power of the other—such as a creator and an audience participant. This paper takes a look into a content creator and his manipulation of certain audience members and the ways in which these audience members were made vulnerable. To do this, first there must be a breakdown of the theory in which this paper will be connecting the manipulation of female audience members to this creator.
By looking at Henry Jenkins’ Participatory Culture theory, connections can be made between the ways audiences interact with content and how content creators can take advantage of these interactions and use them to their own advantage. This paper will explore this through the specific example of Onision and his history of grooming and abuse controversies.
This connection seems to show that because young female audience members tend to latch onto certain older male creators, these older men can curate their content in such a way to target their insecurities and cater their content to them in a way that separates them from the rest of the world. Not only this, but older male content creators can also use this to shape the ways in which they interact with their audiences.
Recommended Citation
Manetta, Isabelle, "The Manipulation of Female Participants: Onision and Participatory Culture Theory" (2023). Capstone Showcase. 5.
https://scholarworks.arcadia.edu/showcase/2023/media_communication/5
The Manipulation of Female Participants: Onision and Participatory Culture Theory
With the rise of the Internet and constant sharing comes new ways of interacting with people both as audience members and content creators. Because of this, it has now become increasingly easier to connect with and manipulate people through a screen, especially if one is in a position of power of the other—such as a creator and an audience participant. This paper takes a look into a content creator and his manipulation of certain audience members and the ways in which these audience members were made vulnerable. To do this, first there must be a breakdown of the theory in which this paper will be connecting the manipulation of female audience members to this creator.
By looking at Henry Jenkins’ Participatory Culture theory, connections can be made between the ways audiences interact with content and how content creators can take advantage of these interactions and use them to their own advantage. This paper will explore this through the specific example of Onision and his history of grooming and abuse controversies.
This connection seems to show that because young female audience members tend to latch onto certain older male creators, these older men can curate their content in such a way to target their insecurities and cater their content to them in a way that separates them from the rest of the world. Not only this, but older male content creators can also use this to shape the ways in which they interact with their audiences.