Author(s)

Chenyan Jin ¹, Yixuan Liu ²

Affiliation(s)

¹ School of Journalism and Communication, Ningxia University, Yinchuan, China
² College of Tourism and Media, Chongqing Jiaotong University, Chongqing, China

Corresponding Author

Yixuan Liu

ABSTRACT

Podcasts are reshaping listeners' emotional relationships and cultural practices. Based on semi-structured interviews with 15 podcast listeners, this study finds that parasocial interaction is cultivated through vocal intimacy and emotional identification. Sustained engagement enables listeners to internalize hosts' values and aesthetic orientations, gradually reinforcing shared habitus. As these dispositions gain collective recognition, hosts accumulate symbolic capital and cultural authority, which are ultimately reflected in listeners' identity construction and taste distinction. By revealing the relational process through which emotionally grounded media relationships are transformed into symbolic capital that underpins cultural identities and taste distinction, this study advances understanding of how digital media contribute to cultural differentiation and social distinction.

KEYWORDS

Parasocial interaction; Taste distinction; Symbolic capital; Podcast; Digital media

CITE THIS PAPER

Chenyan Jin, Yixuan Liu. From Parasocial Interaction to Symbolic Capital: A Study of Podcast Listeners' Emotional Identification and Taste Distinction. Media and Communication Research (2026). Vol. 7, No. 2, 69-85. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/mediacr.2026.070208.

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