VTuber (NIJISANJI EN) communication with their followers and fellow VTubers on Twitter

VTuber - a virtual youtuber. It is a content creator who livestreams or makes videos using a 2D (or, in rare and expensive cases, 3D) motion-tracked avatar of themselves or their made up persona.

VTubers as a possible influencer career choice is not a new trend, created and popularized in Japan. However, the western countries are still just getting to know the VTuber community, therefore there is yet to be any research done regarding this phenomenon. With the help of VTuber agencies like NIJISANJI and HOLOLIVE, anyone is able to entertain an audience live can become a VTuber without ever having to show their face or reveal their real name. However, at the end of the day, they are influencers, or idols due to the way such agencies work (new content creators having to "debut" and keep up a weekly schedule), so it is interesting to observe how the western content creators deal with their fans, to learn whether parasocial relationships can still form even with the lack of personal information such as a real face and real name, and how the VTubers interact amongst themselves.

I am a researcher in Kaunas University of Technology and I aim to answer these questions in my research. And I would like YOU to help me! All answers are anonymous.

Questionnaire results are available only to the author

1. What is your age? ✪

2. What is your gender? ✪

3. Where are you from? (Country) ✪

4. Before this quiz, have you ever heard of the term "VTuber?"

If the answer is No, please skip to the question 10

5. How often do you watch VTubers?

6. Have you ever sent a donation/superchat to a VTuber?

7. Do you follow any VTubers on Twitter?

8. Do you interact with VTubers on Twitter?

9. Which of these do you do the most often? Select all that apply

10. Why do fans of VTubers develop parasocial relationships with their idols? ✪

Parasocial relationship - the psychological relationship an audience member of a mass media performer experiences, where the viewer considers the performer as their friend and interacts with them like so online or in real life.

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