Online social media gives users an outlet to embrace their differences and provide emotional support to others while deepening perceived relationships they feel they have with celebrities, researchers said.
Communication researchers at the University of Missouri revealed that the followers of singer Lady Gaga embraced their own differences by setting her as an example in how she embraces her own differences and unusual behaviors.
She enjoys more than 40 million Twitter followers, and she shares personal and 'insider' information through social media and develops feelings of intimacy with her followers.
According to recent statistics, more than 175 million tweets are sent daily, and 11 accounts are created every second on Twitter.
Assistant professor of communication in the MU College of Arts and Science
Melissa Click and her team found that in some cases emotional support was a matter of life or death.
