Mediated Intimacies

Abstract

This entry reviews the ways in which “traditional” intimacy concerning sex and relationships have been transformed by communication technologies, as well as how these technologies have made a range of other connections “intimate.” It does so by discussing three different kinds of mediated intimacy as it is expressed in the Global North. The first meaning refers to work on the way in which discourses of sex and relationship advice are mediated in women's magazines and other kinds of self‐help literature. This concerns a more traditional understanding of intimacy as relating to one‐on‐one romantic relationships that involve sex and the family and explores how these relationships are portrayed in various media sites. The second meaning of mediated intimacy refers to intimacy and social media, and concerns how digital communication technologies have transformed personal relationships and added a level of intimacy to a wide range of relationships. Most of our friendships are now maintained through personalized networked publics on various social media platforms, in which we display intimate connections in front of imagined audiences. The last definition of mediated intimacy pertains to the way celebrities (self‐made microcelebrities or conventionally famous people) use social media to create intimate relationships with fans. Communication technologies have transformed the relation between celebrity and audience to make almost all contemporary interactions between famous person and fan inflected by intimacy.

Estratégias Discursivas De Influenciadores Digitais Na Campanha De Atendimento Precoce Da Covid-19

“…Para Thelandersson (2020), criadores de conteúdo investem em relações com os sujeitos por meio de conexões íntimas, gerando aparências sinceras que fomentam laços fortes. O conteúdo transmitido quase simultaneamente a sua ocorrência e o fato de mostrar os bastidores do que seria privado e inacessível (ABIDIN, 2015) conferem interatividade, colocando o criador de conteúdo em posição de acessibilidade, comunicação direta e pessoal (BOYD, 2006).…”

“…A influenciadora digital profissional veicula conteúdos com temática de lifestyle no Instagram, fornecendo a sensação de intimidade, mostrando os bastidores (MARWICK;BOYD, 2011). Suas postagens são associadas à "natureza íntima das relações pessoais mediadas" nas plataformas digitais (THELANDERSSON, 2020), que buscam fortalecer os vínculos com a audiência.…”