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Media Education (Mediaobrazovanie)
E-ISSN 1994-4195
2023. 19(1): 179-189
DOI: 10.13187/me.2023.1.179 https://me.cherkasgu.press
Means of Emotional Impact on the Audience in User Media Content
Alla Shesterina a , *, Ekaterina Zvereva b
a Voronesh State University, Russian Federation b Derzhavin Tambov State University, Russian Federation
Abstract
The purpose of the study is to try to specify the means of emotional impact that modern publishers use in user-generated content. Based on the material of the analysis, the key means of emotional impact on the audience were identified: the principle of exoticism, tempo-rhythm failure, archetypization of images, infotainment, text metaphorization, assimilated symbols and nostalgic images. The results of the study prove the fact that video bloggers use almost all means of emotional impact that are typical for television programs, but submodalities are the most effective means of attracting and retaining attention in video blogging.
The conclusion is made that video bloggers use both the means of emotional impact on the audience already known to traditional media and specific ways of keeping the audience's attention: aggressive announcement, a special approach to creating their own image, shocking the audience, active work with the sound range, the use of graphic elements that are not motivated by the content, non-existent sounds, playing with time. In the analyzed video content, the significant role of interactivity elements is noted, which have a strong emotional impact on the audience and form a stable community, turning casual viewers into the category of regular subscribers.
Keywords: user-generated content, blogosphere, submodalities, means of emotional impact.
1. Introduction
As numerous researchers maintain (Aldwairi, Alwahedi, 2018; Anderson et al., 2003, Anderson et al., 2017, Anderson, Bushman, 2002; Bakir, McStay, 2018; Berghel, 2017; Bharali, Goswami, 2018; Bradshaw, Howard, 2018; Fletcher, Nielsen, 2017; Kacinová, 2019; Marwick, Levis, 2017; Silverman, 2020; Vargo et al., 2018; Vrabec, Botosová, 2020 and others), the active transformation of the latest media sector has led to significant changes in the communication strategies used by authors to attract and retain the audience's attention. There are several reasons for this process. First, with the increase in the volume of information circulation, the question of how an author can stand out in the media stream and compete with similar authors is becoming more acute. Secondly, the competition between publications today goes beyond the media sphere -authors compete not only with other publishers, but also with all forms of organizing free time, which makes the process of competition itself more aggressive. Thirdly, almost every user today becomes a publisher, introducing new, non-canonical models of interaction with the audience into the elements of their works (Salter, 2022). All these processes are especially noticeable in user content, the variatization of which is provided by both technical and technological transformations
* Corresponding author
E-mail addresses: shesterina8@gmail.com (A.M. Shesterina), Katya9_2001@mail.ru (E.A. Zvereva)
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and socio-cultural shifts taking place in the media sphere. Different platforms and applications offer an incredible variety of easy-to-learn content creation and manipulation technologies to authors. As a result, a new complex of expressive means is formed in the network environment, aimed at attracting the audience to specific media content.
2. Materials and methods
The aim of the study is to try to concretize the means of emotional impact used by modern publishers in user-generated content. To achieve this aim, we consistently solve the following tasks: to determine the means of emotional impact used in traditional and newest media; to analyze their representation in user content; to identify the means that are not typical for traditional media but are present in user content; to make conclusions about the means of emotional impact on the audience, which are most often used by modern bloggers.
The empirical base of the study was audiovisual blogs published by the authors in 2020-2021. In the video blogging sector, we focused mainly on the channels represented in the Russian-speaking sector of the YouTube platform. Based on their Google ratings, we have selected 10 channels that are among the top interests of the audience - Lapenko, VDud, Chicken Curry, Editorial office, Dima Gordey, Beware. Sobchak, Dima Maslennikov, Wylsacom, Labelcom, AcademeG. On each channel, we selected 10 videos published in 2020-2021 that had received the highest number of views by the time to start the analysis.
In our research, we applied the comparative typological method and the method of content analysis. The latter was used based on the concepts of means of emotional impact and means of attracting and retaining the attention of an audience developed by such authors as Alexander G. Asmolov and Grigory A. Asmolov (Asmolov, 2011), Arthur A. Berger (Berger, 2005), Nina N. Bogomolova (Bogomolova, 2008), Jennings Bryant, Susan Thompson (Bryant, Thompson, 2004), Richard Bandler, Will MacDonald (Bandler, McDonald, 2004), Alexander Fedorov (Fedorov et al., 2016; Fedorov, 2015; Fedorov, 2019; Fedorov, Levitskaya, 2020; Levitskaya, Fedorov, 2020), Kamile Grusauskaite (Grusauskaite, 2022), Alexander E. Vayskunsky (Vayskunsky, 2011), Vladimir F. Oleshko (Oleshko, 2018), Vyacheslav N. Pankratov (Pankratov, 2004), Elena E. Pronina (Pronina, 2006).
3. Discussion
Jennings Bryant and Susan Thompson, in their work "Fundamentals of Media Impact", note that "the psychological impact of the media has been talked about since the advent of the first printing press in 1450."1 According to the researchers, initially the understanding of media influence belonged to the ruling class and was expressed, in particular, in measures to restrict the freedom of the press, primarily in areas related to the broadcasting of violence and pornography. Only with the spread of literacy in the 19th century did the problem begin to cause public concern, and today it is a matter of concern for everyone - "from the president to parents, from intellectuals to the first-year students". 2. Unfortunately, the problem is often perceived too flatly. At the present stage, it would be useful, for example, to extinguish a little the discussion about manipulation in the context of media influence.
Often, when it comes to media exposure, the conversation immediately transforms into a discussion about manipulation, about mastering the hearts and minds of people. For example, M.I. Davletshina (Davletshina, 2022) writes about the negative impact of media on children of primary school age, E.V. Kablukov (Kablukov, 2022) reflects on the consequences of constructing new social norms with the help of the media. Along with this, a number of researchers prove the existence of a constructive potential of media consumption. Thus, A. Fedorov (Fedorov, 2017) offers a comprehensive analysis of the possibilities of media education. Buckingham (Buckingham, 2003) and Carlsson (Carlsson, 2019) reflect on the importance of developing media literacy. I. Chelysheva conducts a rigorous analysis of the process of formation of schoolchildren's family values in the works of Russian cinema and, together with G. Mikhaleva, analyzes the work of the Media School "Media Education and Media Literacy for All", emphasizing the creative possibilities of media education practices (Chelysheva, Mikhaleva, 2022). And here it is appropriate to repeat the words spoken by E.I. Pronin several decades ago, that have hardly lost their relevance to the present day: "The problem of printing efficiency, at least at the first stage of solution, acts as a problem of mastering the reader's interest, or rather, as a problem of creating a reader's sustainable interest in certain phenomena of public life"(Pronin: 10). Therefore, the basis of influence is much broader than arguments about manipulation.
To describe various types and levels of media impact, from purely individual to group or even global on the scale of the whole society, researchers use models of both micro- and macro-analytical types.
"Lasswell's formula", which is still relevant to this day, can be considered as a universal model: "who says what to whom in which channel with what effect?" However, this model appears to be too simplistic. The concept of strong media influence, the primitive behavioral model of "stimulus-response", when any message is accepted with a sufficient number of repetitions, should at least be supplemented with such parameters as attention, understanding, attitude. In this sense, P.Lazarsfeld singled out two groups of variables - interpersonal relations of the audience and defensive selectivity. And this differentiation has become of particular importance. The latter consists in the fact that convinced adherents of an idea perceive mainly the content with which they agree in advance. That is why it is important to study more the selective spheres of influence than the general principles of influence.
Comstock's psychological model can be considered as one of the most effective models for describing the direct impact of mass communication on individual consumers. An employee of the Syracuse University G. Comstock and his research team used this model to explain the mental processes that occur when watching television. The model shows that the behavior of TV characters can influence the behavior of the viewer. A person learns the behavior that he or she sees on the screen, and can adopt it. The use of a new behavior is determined by its significance (or psychological importance) for the individual, as well as the degree of excitement or motivation of the individual (this characteristic is called excitement within the model) achieved as a result of imitation. An important variable that determines the intensity of media exposure is the perceived reality of the depicted behavior, however, adhering to such a model, one should not ignore the role of chance.
We can cite the model of media dependence developed by M.JI. de Fleur and S. Ball-Rokesh as an example of media influence at the social level. The subject of this model is the relationship between mass media (information system) and society (social system). The model assumes that in modern society the dependence of individuals on the media as a source of news and information is continuously increasing.
The "magic bullet" theory does not contradict this concept. It is built on the absurd for a thinking person boundless faith in the possibilities of the media and on the belief that the messages of the mass media are equally perceived by all members of the audience and cause an inevitable and immediate reaction. Such, for example, is the model of Lasswell and Shannon. According to this model, communication is like a magic bullet that, when fired from the brain of one person into the brain of another one, almost automatically transforms ideas, feelings, knowledge, or motivations. The viewer, reader, listener is defenseless, information lights him or her up like a light bulb.
The cognitive paradigm, by various methods, studies, first of all, the interest that a message causes. In this model, an important division of the impact of the media into targeted and non-targeted is carried out. The latter, as a rule, is completely built on interaction with a person's personal experience.
Representatives of the cognitive paradigm created another model, which is based on the concept of preferred reading: the text makes you want to get acquainted with it due to the fact that it contains a negative, alternative or oppositional reading. The fact is that most people constantly change and reject any dominant ideology reflected in the message, and therefore any denial or offer of alternatives is considered desirable.
These ideas are developed in theories of the social reality construction. The first bright adept and creator of one of these theories was Noel-Newman - the author of the so-called "spiral of silence": it is enough to spread an opinion and say that, according to statistics, it is generally accepted, and it will immediately become generally accepted. The less stable the society is, the more this law works. However, this model is more valid for Western Europe, Russia and America. And in Japan, for example, the "dominant opinion" model works instead: people tend to trust politicians who, in their opinion, understand what they are talking about more than ordinary people.
Both of these models are united by the idea that the audience in both cases perceives not someone's assessment, but, according to Lipman, their own fantasy on this topic. We internally understand that these estimates are not the structure of the real world, but the structure of our imagination. Related to this is the problem of "narcotization" through the media, discussed by Lazarsfeld and Merton: most of us, thanks to media reports, have a clear understanding of the problems of society, understand that many of these problems are already on the verge of being
acceptable, but at the same time we are absolutely passive. After all, these problems are part of our imagination.
That is, an artificial world is being formed, and it is rather difficult to get a person out of it. However, plunging into this world, this person is easy to manipulate by "pulling the strings".
4. Results
The analysis of the empirical basis made it possible to identify those forms of emotional impact on the audience that bloggers used most often.
Dima Maslennikov channel. To Survive, Project:
- the principle of exoticism. The video content is completely based on the principle of exoticism: an exotic island with its entourage, an emphasis on an exotic spider on Dima's clothes, an exotic mise-en-scene and situation;
- tempo-rhythm failure. It manifests itself both at the video level and at the audio level. The latter option is expressed mainly in intonation and pausation ("And three incredibly cool challenges" - emphasis in the voice. "He will go home with half a million rubles" - an accent pause). We observe a tempo-rhythm failure at the level of the video sequence in the excessively accelerated alternation of cuts and the use of a reporting camera.
- nostalgic images. In the analyzed video content, we find references to the "Last Hero" program (the entourage and the plot are similar to this program, but much more primitive).
Who will survive? Answer or suffer, Project:
- the principle of exoticism. Exotic cages in which heroes are hidden (Danya Milokhin, Eldar Dzharakhov);
- tempo-rhythm failure. "Three choices for the answer" - accentuation of speech;
- pauses. Excessively accelerated alternation of cuts, reporting camera.
Extreme hide and seek in an abandoned city, Project:
- the principle of exoticism. Exotic location. The painted face of the presenter. Che's Beret. The strange attire of the participants who create their own exotic rooms;
- tempo-rhythm failure. Accentuation of speech (the participants are supposed to report their impressions as loudly as possible), pauses, excessively accelerating alternation of cuts;
- archetypization of images. One archetype - Maslennikov - a superhero (therefore -in Che's beret) is imposed. He is "the coolest". Self-admiration beyond measure;
- assimilated stimuli. Cards with assimilated symbols - flashlight, headphones, keys -are shown.
Inside Lapenko channel. Season 3:
- the principle of exoticism. Exotic images are - half-crazy people, hippies, and a woman. All of these roles are played by the same person. Each of these characters should be considered as a parody of someone. Imitation of Soviet television caption cards. Characters from old movies;
- tempo-rhythm failure. Accentuation of speech. Constant change of video sequence;
- archetypization of images. Archetyping at the level of kitsch primitive. A weird poor scientist. A long-haired musician, out of control, wearing a leather jacket and speaking slang. An official from the commission in a hat and suit;
- infotainment at the level of the video sequence using the technique of analogies, when precedent video quotes are included in the video content, creating the image of the "Soviet era";
- metaphorization within the framework of stereotypes and patterns. Emphasized non-originality and outdatedness;
- nostalgic images. Nostalgia is the main message. Costumes and entourage - are from the Soviet past. Shooting imitates the style of Soviet cinema.
What happened next? Bogdan Titomir and Vasily Utkin:
- the principle of exoticism. Very local. They sit in armchairs among exotic plants. They communicate in a very focused way. Intentional gestures, excessive emotions;
- tempo-rhythm failure: accentuation of speech, broken pausation, expressive intoning;
- archetypization. The hosts are heroes, all the guests are secondary characters.
Chicken Curry x Vivienne Sabo-Cabaret:
- the principle of exoticism. The style of "Cabaret" itself and the presentation of Vogue are the embodiment of exotic beauty in a gray life. The plot of the video is based on this collision;
- tempo-rhythm failure. Constant change of cuts to the rhythm of the music. There is almost no speech. The camera is moved depending on choreography;
- archetypization. The family is traditional - the groom is non-traditional. But the traditional "father" shakes his hand, appreciating his work and talent, even though in feathers. "Mom" is the embodiment of understanding and support for the daughter's choice. The son is suspended from action. He is always on the phone as a typical representative of the younger generation;
- infotainment. Role playing. You don't know what the father's reaction to the groom-voger will be. The theatrical pause is maximized;
- metaphorization of the text. Cabaret breaks into everyday life. Brightness, glitter, dancing, exoticism. But can our everyday life become a cabaret? Where is the real life? In this situation, the dancer in feathers and sequins turns out to be the real one;
- nostalgic images. The family at the table has no details tied to modernity. It is just a family at the table. There is nostalgia for a large family with several generations.
Chicken Curry. Comment Out #11/Olga Buzova x Fedor Smolov:
- the principle of exoticism. It is expressed in challenges for the participants: change into a cockroach costume and run away on all fours from a man trying to hit you with a slipper; pay 400,000 rubles for the repair of the roof of the Cultural Center in the village and the Cultural Center will be named after you, etc.;
- tempo-rhythm failure. The host and the participants constantly change the tempo-rhythm. There is a change of cuts, but everything happens in one local place and the video sequence does not change dramatically;
- archetypization. The host knows everything and controls the situation. Participants are in a subordinate situation;
- infotainment. Everything is based on acting out the situation. Members either do unusual things or write obscene comments on social media to certain individuals. The video is built on surprise and momentary reaction of the participants and third parties (victims of the actions of the plot);
- metaphors in the text of Sasha Gudkov: "Queen of home entertainment", "world of dreams". There are no metaphors in the texts of the host and players.
Wylsacom:
- the principle of exoticism. Exoticism is in waiting for the result of unpacking. We observe the exaggeration of actions, we hear emotionally colored vocabulary, interjectional commenting and deliberately colloquial vocabulary (cool, goodie (nyshtyak), way to go, vidosiki (videos), alishka (aliexpress));
- tempo-rhythm failure. Intonating. Emotional shouting. Abundant gestures;
- archetypization. The host creates the image of "a good guy". He is for you. He will never deceive you.
- infotainment. Acting out the process of unwrapping a parcel. Involving the audience in the
game;
AcademeG:
- the principle of exoticism. Taking some old ZIL that is impossible to drive and fixing it;
- tempo-rhythm failure. It is manifested in the slowing down of speech and affirmative gestures. At the level of the video sequence, we observe a frequent change of cuts. The car is admired from different angles;
- archetypization. Master's image. I will figure everything out, do it and show you how I did it;
- infotainment. Involving the audience in a competition between an old but fixed car and a cool new foreign car. ZIL overtook Porsche. It was unexpected, but pleasant;
- Metaphorization is used quite often. ZIL "kicks the asses of German cars." The car "popped out of your memories". The car now has a "plastic front". "Tear to shreds."
Dima Gordey:
- the principle of exoticism. Exotically poor heroes with an old car;
- tempo-rhythm failure. Moderate intonating. Affirmative gestures. Change of cuts while working;
- infotainment. The gaming moment is what will happen in the end after upgrading?
Editorial office:
- the principle of exoticism. The exotic thing is that YouTube has a high-quality journalistic product. It is extremely subjective and highly professional;
- tempo-rhythm failure. The words are confirmed by the video sequence. It is done in an active and professional way. Persuasive gestures (up, down, one hand, folded both hands).
Gestures are supported by a picture. Skillful playing with the face - eyes, turning the head -everything works on the meaning of words;
- archetypization is diverse, depending on the characters: father, children-parents, king-people;
- infotainment. Game of meanings in speech. Irony and humor. Symbolic hoodies on the host (each issue) personify one of the main ideas of the issue;
- Metaphorization is the most diverse. The meaning is built on metaphors. "Like in a good circus. Lukashenko's fantasy is running smoothly." "Reprises of Lukashenko". "A lawyer is a bizarre problem solver." "The big actor turned out to be a small person." "A wave of hatred splattered everyone." "Hatred is a substance that cannot be kept in a vessel." "We understand the official Russian language better than the Italian translator does." "Listen to the voice of your conscience";
- assimilated stimuli are common: candles, likes, ticks and crosses, a thermometer (hatred degree), a judge's gavel.
Beware, Sobchak:
- the principle of exoticism. We try to introduce an exotic note with allusions to sex;
- tempo-rhythm failure. Intonating. Change of cuts of the host and the guest;
- archetypization may appear in a conversation. ("Who is the sexiest politician");
- infotainment. The gaming moment is manifested in attempts to "tease" the hero.
The analysis of the audiovisual sector of user media has shown that among the most frequent means of emotional impact on the audience, the following are used:
1. The principle of exoticism. This tool is used by video bloggers at both the form and content levels. Talking about form, we can find it already in the approach to content wrapping - in the titles of the issues, in their description and in the concept of the issue cover. Also, this principle can be implemented in the choice of location or the blogger's image. For example, Dima Maslennikov chooses an exotic island for the filming of the project "To survive", and an unusual spider appears on his clothes, attracting attention. In the project Who Will Survive? Answer or Suffer Dania Milokhin and Eldar Dzharakhov find themselves hidden in cages, and in the "Extreme Hide and Seek in an Abandoned City" issue we see exotic locations, the host's unexpected make-up, and the strange clothes of the heroes who create their own original rooms, according to the principle "the more unexpected, the cooler".
In general, bloggers are quite active working with image-forming parameters to emphasize their uniqueness. Thus, Ksenia Sobchak often introduces elements of sexuality into her image, and in the issue Inside Lapenko. Season 3 we can observe exotic images into which the blogger transforms (a strange woman, hippie, half-mad people).
At the level of content, the principle manifests itself in semantic accents that are placed by the author in his/her own text or in the content of questions addressed to the guest. This technique is often used by Yuri Dud, whose interviews are often built on the principle of contrast. He usually starts by being polite and tactful, then suddenly he asks unexpected provocative questions. Quite often, semantic accents are placed by him at the titration stage - when the titles contradict what his character says. This technique is also manifested in the use of the retardation principle - a kind of slowing down before an unexpected ending. So, the Wylsacom channel presenter almost always deliberately slows down, exaggerates his actions to make the viewer expect the result of unpacking. This process is accompanied by interjection commenting, the use of colloquialisms ("nishtyak" -a goodie, cool, vidosiki (diminutive for a video), alishka (diminutive for Ali Express)).
At the composition level of the work, we can also find a manifestation of the exoticism principle, when the most unusual, unexpected and even paradoxical fragments are concentrated in the release announcement. This beginning is typical for almost all issues of bloggers working in the interview genre.
Also, bloggers quite often break the norm boundaries at the task setting level. We note this way of showing the exoticism principle in the genre of challenge. In the content we analyzed, it manifested itself, for example, on channel AcademeG, where the blogger was tasked with restoring an old ZIL car, which had long been broken almost irreparably.
Of course, these examples do not exhaust the whole variety of manifestations of the exotic principle in video blogs. The frequency of its use by bloggers is great. We found the exotic principle at work in 94 % of analyzed video blogs.
2. Tempo-rhythm failure. This means of emotional impact has a rich history and is based on the fact that the rhythmic pattern of a musical work can change the emotional state of the audience.
It is no coincidence that many musical works have a verse-chorus structure, it is no coincidence that long texts are split into paragraphs, it is no coincidence that the variety of the pause system makes a favorable impression on the listener. Video bloggers use this means of impact in two forms - synchronous and asynchronous. The latter manifests itself at the level of one of the series -auditory or visual.
So, the tempo-rhythm failure at the level of the visual series can be realized in the case of an excessively accelerating or decelerating alternation of shots, changing frames with different color palettes. We meet such "clip cuts", for example, in the VDud channel commercials. At the level of the auditory series, the tempo-rhythm failure is manifested in the alternation of rhythmic music and arrhythmic speech, which is often used by bloggers. It can also manifest itself in intensive intonating (for example, in Wylsacom releases) and unusual pausing (Dima Maslennikov).
The synchronous form is present in the case of coincidence of the tempo-rhythm failure at the level of both visual and auditory series. For example, in the Chicken Curry releases, the presenter and the participants constantly change the rhythm of communication, which is reflected both in the tempo of speech and in gesticulation, as well as changing shots during editing.
This technique also manifests itself in playing with time (time lapse, hyper lapse, slow motion). Video bloggers are actively experimenting with the possibilities of speeding up and slowing down actions, given that the audience often watches videos in accelerated mode.
3. Archetypization of images. This technique is used by bloggers both in forming their own images (in 100 % of cases) and stereotyping of informing about certain phenomena and events, which are often reduced to a widespread canon. This technique is most clearly manifested, of course, in Vines on the TikTok platform. However, since the technique originated many years ago on video hosting, it is still prevalent in the blogosphere. So, Dmitry Maslennikov tries to form the image of a hero, identifying himself with iconic characters (for example, in one of the issues he puts on Che's beret). Sometimes his attempts to create such an image demonstrate an element of narcissism. We can see archetypization in the image of the Wylsacom presenter - "like everyone else", a regular lad. Lapenko archetypes his images, albeit at the level of a kitsch primitive: a beggar, strange scientist, uncontrollable long-haired musician in a leather jacket, an official from the commission wearing a hat and a suit, etc. And in Chicken Curry Dungeon the heroes are allotted specific archetypal images, with which they must coincide as accurately as possible.
Sometimes not individual categories of persons but entire social institutions are archetyped. So, in one of the Chicken Curry commercials the family is archetyped through the use of the contrast principle. All the characters of the family are typical and traditional. Only the daughter's groom is unconventional. But the traditional "father" shakes his hand, realizing that this is work and talent, albeit in feathers. "Mom" is the embodiment of understanding and support for the daughter's choice. The son is suspended from action, he is always on the phone, like a typical representative of the younger generation.
4. Infotainment (acting out news). We can find this technique both at the level of the video sequence and at the level of the audio sequence. For example, the choice of clothing may not be random. So, symbolic hoodies by Alexey Pivovarov (Editorial office) are usually associated with the idea of the release.
Often, "acting out" a particular situation is realized using the technique of analogies, when, for example, video content includes precedent video quotes or well-known audio fragments (Inside Lapenko. Season 3). Also, the technique is manifested in the active use of graphics, in the costume of the video blogger. For example, Bad Comedian in the "T 34" episode begins by acting out a scene that unites the hero of the film and the heroes of the Marvel universe.
Infotainment can manifest itself in elements of interactive interaction with the audience. For example, in the AcademeG issue, the viewer is involved in a competition between an old, restored car and a new foreign car. But the most noticeable manifestation of infotainment elements is in the genre of sketch shows, where the action is completely staged (a number of issues of Chicken Curry, Lapenko).
5. Metaphorization of the text. This means of emotional impact clearly manifests itself on channel Chicken Curry, where the aesthetics of cabaret bursts into everyday life. The viewer may not always differentiate between the truth and the fiction, between life and play. The so-called upside-down images appear, when a feeling of deception is initially formed, and then it turns out that it is in this deception that the truth of life is hidden.
Talking about metaphorization at the level of the text, we have to admit that its presence depends on the literary talent of the author. This technique is found in less than 50 % of issues.
6. Assimilated symbols (for example, the sound of a siren, fire, scream) are used by bloggers more often in the formation of their own image (for example, the chain on Ksenia Sobchak evokes an association with a dog, and the blogger consistently conducts this association on her channel) or in stimulating the audience's reaction through symbolism (family symbols in the Chicken Curry episode, a lantern, headphones, keys on Lapenko channel).
7. Nostalgic images. Many bloggers turn to this means of emotional impact, using musical fragments that evoke nostalgic associations. But, perhaps, in the analyzed content this tool manifested itself most clearly in the episodes of Lapenko, where almost all the elements of the video are aimed at evoking associations with the recent past.
Thus, video bloggers use almost all means of emotional impact that are typical for television programs. But, perhaps, the most effective means of attracting and retaining attention in video blogging are submodalities - such parameters of the text, with a rare change in which the viewer's attention is involuntarily attracted. Of course, these submodalities are also used by traditional media, but bloggers use them much more often.
Among the most frequent visual submodalities are the following:
1. Associated - disassociated. We see this technique in the work of almost all bloggers. Correctly aligned frames alternate with frames taken in violation of the classical shooting principles. Sometimes this is associated with a change of location (as, for example, in an interview with Yuri Dud), and sometimes it is used as a tool, only to attract the viewer's attention (Beware. Sobchak).
2. Color - monochrome. Changing the palette is a common practice. So, on Lapenko channel, it is used to create the feeling of an "old film", and on Labelcom channel, it is used only to keep the viewer's attention.
3. Flat - three-dimensional. This submodality manifests itself in the design elements when graphics suddenly appear in the frame - and in the most unexpected places (for example, Yuri Dud's "floating" titles). But fragments of motivated animation look more interesting (as, for example, in the issue Inside Lapenko 3. Episode 8. Final or in the issues of Chicken Curry).
4. Change of distance. Bloggers in general change the size of the shot more often than it is done on television. Often, a change in size occurs without changing the angle and at a time when the action has not yet been completed.
5. Change of location. The blogger can drop out of the frame and return to the frame (issues of Editorial office, Lapenko). If this does not interfere with the perception of the video, this approach to filming is considered appropriate. For example, if a person in the frame is gesturing actively and in an attractive way, the camera can accompany the hero's hands and at the same time "lose" the speaker's face. Thus, the effect of the viewer's involvement is formed - the camera becomes, as it were, his/her eyes and follows the object like an ordinary person would do.
Frequent auditory submodalities include:
1. Change of the volume. Sometimes a sense of defective sound is formed. But most often this is an illusion. Video bloggers love to experiment with loudness. These experiments can be carried out both at the speech level (for example, whispering in episodes of Lapenko), and at the sound processing level (for example, increasing and decreasing the volume in Chicken Curry episodes). There are also jumps in sound between the main content and advertising spots (moreover, even those filmed by the blogger himself, as, for example, in an interview with Yuri Dud).
2. The use of additional sounds, the source of which is clear (Beware, Sobchak).
3. Using additional sounds, the source of which is not clear (Dima Maslennikov).
In addition, it is important to note the significant role of interactivity elements in the analyzed video content. These elements have a strong emotional impact on the audience and form a stable community, turning casual viewers into the category of regular subscribers.
As the main models of interactive communication, video bloggers most often use the following:
- infection (transmission of a certain emotional state). We observe this model on channels Lapenko, Chicken Curry, Labelcom, AcademeG;
- suggestion (targeted, unreasoned impact by verbal means in the absence of critical perception). This kind of model is found on channels VDud, Editorial office, Beware. Sobchak;
- imitation (reproduction of behavior traits and patterns of another person). A similar strategy is used on channels Dima Gordey, Dima Maslennikov, Wylsacom.
Bloggers also use various forms of interactivity:
- intrusion (active influence on the viewer, reader, listener without taking into account his/her preparedness). Most often we meet this model on channels Dima Gordey, Beware. Sobchak;
- self-disclosure (active self-expression of the communicator, intimization of communication). This strategy is best demonstrated on Wylsacom channel;
- involvement (appeal to the viewer as a co-author), for example, on Lapenko channel.
Among the most common forms of stimulating interactivity, video bloggers use well-known
ones: likes (100 % of video content), comments (100 % of video content), tagging people (92 % of video content). Questions to the audience or questions from the audience (48 % of video content), discussion of feedback from users (18 % of video content), gratitude to users (6 % of video content) are used much less often. Despite the slight variety of these techniques, the degree of involvement (including emotional one) of the audience in channel work is great.
5. Conclusion
Thus, in the course of our research, we come to the conclusion that video bloggers use the means of emotional impact on the audience, already known to traditional media, but much more often and more aggressively. Thus, they more often turn to submodalities, more often turn to the principle of exoticism, and include elements of different gamification types in their works. At the same time, there are also specific ways to keep the audience's attention. This is, first of all, aggressive announcement at the beginning of the release, a special approach to creating your own image, frequent shocking the audience, active work with the sound range of the work, the use of graphic elements that are not motivated by the content, non-existent sounds, playing with time. All these things are shaping a new web aesthetic that is already beginning to influence the work of traditional media.
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