Abstract
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.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | ucaf023 |
| Journal | Journal of Consumer Research |
| Early online date | 7 Apr 2025 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 7 Apr 2025 |
Acknowledgements
The authors also thank the entire review team, Aya Aboelenien, Pierre-Yann Dolbec, Eileen Fischer, Ashlee Humphreys, Alev Kuruoğlu, Marie-Agnès Parmentier, Michelle Weinberger, and Carolina Zanette, who gave feedback on earlier versions of the article. The authors’ appreciation also extends to their companion animals Alice, Mau, Jimjim, Honey, and Puff, as well as all animals who inspire and participate in companion species content on social media.Funding
This article is based on Shamayleh’s MSc thesis, conducted at the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University and partly funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The authors also acknowledge the financial support provided by the Concordia Aid to Scholarly Research Fund and the Office of the Vice-President, Research and Graduate Studies at Concordia University.