Fan Support Activities as Media Literacy Practice: Identity Construction in TNT (Time Teens) Fan Culture

Abstract

This study examines how fan support activities in Chinese “nurturing idol” culture function as media literacy practices and identity construction processes, focusing on TNT (Time in Teen) fan culture. Using Burn & Durran’s 3Cs media literacy framework and Connected Learning theory, we analyzed TNT fan activities on Bilibili and Weibo across 2019, 2021, and 2023. Results show that the “parallel growth” model, where teenage fans develop alongside similarly-aged idols, creates unique opportunities for media literacy development through cultural understanding, critical interpretation, and creative production. Fans evolved from passive consumers to active cultural producers, developing technical skills and critical thinking through collaborative content creation. However, this participatory culture operates within platform capitalism structures that transform fan creativity into digital labor. The findings reveal the dual nature of fan participation: while empowering youth identity formation and media literacy development, it simultaneously subjects participants to commercial exploitation, highlighting tensions between agency and structural constraints in digital youth culture.