Exploring the use of line stickers to bridge the gap in developing parent–emerging adult relationships: Taiwanese emerging adults’ perspectives in family communication patterns and their influence strategies

Abstract

A gap exists in the literature on gender-specific expectations in Taiwanese family communication patterns (FCP) regarding emerging adults’ formation and presentation of an aesthetic identity and use of aesthetic strategies to influence their parents. This study explores how socio-oriented FCPs affect Taiwanese emerging adults in virtual aesthetic contexts, focusing on their aesthetic identity formation and presentation and their use of influence strategies through Line sticker interactions with parents. The methodological approach followed the principles of interpretive phenomenology. The results could be useful in not only understanding parent–emerging adult relationships through the ongoing virtual aesthetic learning process but also gaining insights into how socio-oriented FCPs change between parents and emerging adults. A main contribution of this study is that it suggests a way in which Line stickers can be used to bridge the gap in gender-specific expectations, thereby increasing the parent–emerging adult bond.

Keywords:

• Aesthetic identity
• family communication pattern (FCP)
• influence strategies
• Line sticker
• parent–emerging adult relationship

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 According to Wikipedia and the Cambridge Dictionary, cosplay (コスプレ) is a short way of saying “costume play.” For young adults, cosplay is part of popular culture. Applying cosplay by using line stickers in aesthetic FCPs is virtual “dressing up” (or pretending) to resemble an anime, manga, video game, Japanese rock, or Kpop character.

Additional information

Funding

Ministry of Science and Technology in Taiwan.

Notes on contributors

Chih-Ping Chen

Chih-Ping Chen is an associate professor in the College of Management at Yuan Ze University, Taiwan. Her current research interests are gender studies, cultural studies, communication, and consumer behavior. She has published her research in several international peer-reviewed journals, such as Computers and Education, Journal of Consumer Culture, Gender, Place and Culture, Chinese Journal of Communication, and Technological Forecasting and Social Change. The author received a financial support from Ministry of Science & Technology in Taiwan (MOST 107-2410-H-155-27) for the research, authorship, and publication of this article.