Storybaiting online. Interactive life storying in social media

Abstract We study co-constructed narrative exchange in online storytelling. Our test case is the Finnish YouTuber Niilo22, an unemployed person who broadcasts frequent video clips of his everyday activities while chatting on stock issues and interacting with his followers. Followers engage in lively commentary and team up to make evaluative interpretations of Niilo22’s life on the go. The interpretive frames imposed draw on pre-existing story templates rooted in culturally shared actor categories. We propose the concept of storybaiting to denote the two-way dynamic between Niilo22 and his followers whereby responses triggered by the clips produce further input in the narration, resulting in shared and circularly progressive authorship. This action blurs the ownership of the story and dilutes the teller’s privileges. Life storying in online platforms turns into interactive storybaiting where everybody involved gives and takes cues to evaluate the social media personality and position him in regard to repeated story templates.