Sharing on Social Network Sites following Carrie Fisher’s Death: Responses to Her Mental Health Advocacy

Abstract

Grounded in work on health narratives of public figures, an online survey (N = 305) explored amplification of Carrie Fisher’s mental health advocacy following her death through sharing about mental health on SNSs. Parasocial relationship (PSR) to Fisher and grief in response to her death both predicted greater sharing about mental health on social network sites, but parasocial grief fully mediated the influence of PSR on social sharing. Prosocial motivations (pleasure, pressure) moderated the relationship between parasocial grief and social sharing. In a separate analysis, parasocial grief predicted greater exposure to both media about mental health and media that mourned/celebrated Fisher. Mental health-related media exposure mediated the influence of parasocial grief on social sharing, but this mediation occurred only among people who were not aware of Fisher’s mental health advocacy prior to her death.

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