Abstract:
This dissertation compared college football and NFL fans regarding social media consumption and production utilizing a social identity approach. More specifically, the degree to which team identification and fan identification played a role in the social media use of both groups was analyzed. A total of 586 fans who scored either 1-4 or 8-11 on an 11-point scale responded to a survey that examined respondent’s team and fan identification, as well as social media consumption, creation, and sharing behaviors. Results indicated that college football fans generally identified with fellow fans of their favorite football team and consumed, created, and shared social media more frequently and with greater intensity than their NFL counterparts. Team identification and fan identification were both positive predictors of social media consumption, creation, and sharing among football fans in general, while there were some differences in these predictors between college football and NFL fans. Key differences included fan identification predicted social media consumption and creation, while team identification predicted social media sharing among both college and NFL fans. This study was one of the first to examine two different levels of fans of the same sport and how social media use differed between the two groups. Theoretical contributions to the social identity approach and practical implications of the findings concerning media psychology and sport psychology are also given.
