Explaining the virtual fan culture in the Instagram: causes and determiners(Case Study: Celebrity Fans)

Increasing access to virtual social networks, including Instagram, in Iran due to the creation of an informal media environment and increasing the power of users to share photos, videos, ideas, emotions and feelings, has created a unique opportunity to grow celebrity culture and support them. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to study the causes and determiners of the virtual fan culture of celebrities in Instagram as a social network. The research method is a qualitative method and the grounded theory approach has been used as the operational method of the research. The participants of the present study include 21 fans or followers of celebrities (with more followers) on the Instagram who have been selected by a purposive sampling method. In-depth semi-structured interviews were used to collect the data. The data were analyzed in three phases (open, axial and selective phases) using a continuous comparison method and in accordance with the systematic procedures of Strauss and Carbin. The validity, reliability and portability of the data have also been confirmed. The research findings indicate that the most important reasons of the followers for supporting the celebrities are: digitalization of youth life, consumption society, dominance of society by the celebrities, the role of first age media, and the erosion of institutional trust in society. Also, changes in leisure style, the transformation of fame, inequality in society, and the prevalence of modernization are indicated as underlying or facilitating factors in supporting the celebrities.