Digital Affective Encounters: The Relational Role of Content Circulation on Social Media

One of the most ubiquitous practices on social media is sharing content with others to show affection or affirm an interpersonal connection. Extant consumer research has examined the circulation of objects fueled by desire or as repositories and carriers of emotion and value. The paper extends this work to understand how consumer relationships are shaped through the creation, consumption, and circulation of digital objects imbued with affect. Drawing upon interviews with both managers and followers of animal accounts and netnographic data of animal content on Instagram, this work theorizes how digital affective encounters on social media transpire through the circulation of animal content. The findings highlight the processes through which content is continuously imbued with affective cues to manage parasocial and interpersonal relationships. While affect-laden content can serve as a relational token when shared between friends and family, it can also be captured and modified by large accounts. As a result, the affective force of this content can reach mass audiences and become memetic. Our paper shows the significant role of affect as a mobilizing force of digital affective networks. Beyond animal content, the framework is transferable to the circulation of other social media content and consumer-influencer relationships.