Engl. transl.: The culture of celebrities and young people: from consumption to participation (translated by the coder)

This thesis reports the investigation on the relationship of Portuguese youth with the celebrity culture, not assuming a fan position but seeking to understand their different audience positions. Although celebrities have deep cultural roots, the media are taking the phenomenon to unprecedented proportions, and the study of youth audiences, in addition to the most energetic fans, reveals the negotiations of the cultural value of celebrity within youth cultures. We sought to discuss the implications of these relationships between young people and celebrities in terms of the spheres of consumption – media, products and lifestyle – and citizenship – of involvement in public issues. Forty-eight young men and women aged between 12 and 17, male and female, identified with an image and pseudonym of their choice participated in the study. They were recruited from a youth center in a social district on the outskirts of Lisbon, a public and private school in the capital, and a rural school, as well as celebrity fan blogs (Miley Cyrus, Tokio Hotel, Justin Bieber and the Twilight saga ). The methodologies used were semi-structured individual interviews and focus groups, with images of celebrity cases. Fan events (film preview, flashmob, fan meeting) were observed and youth media producers (magazines, radio, television) and the music industry were interviewed.