Presentation Schedule
From Metrics to Meanings: Audience Engagement and Parasocial Experience in the Thai Edutainment Podcast People You May Know (PYMK) (112640)
Session Chair: Diyako Rahmani
Wednesday, 11 November 2026 13:35
Session: Session 3
Room: Room C (4F)
Presentation Type:Oral Presentation
The popularity of video podcasts has re-driven how knowledge-orientated content attracts Thai audiences, yet edutainment formats that converge educational and entertaining dimensions remain under-examined. This study investigates People You May Know (PYMK), a renowned Thai biographical podcast created by FAROSE Studio, investigating how its content is presented and why audiences are involved with it. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design was applied.
In the quantitative phase, a content analysis coded eleven episodes (2023–2025) that each exceeded one million views, examining informational and dramatic-entertainment elements alongside engagement metrics. The findings show that content centred on royal figures was the most popular category; however, they revealed an apparent paradox: a fabricated April Fools' episode, lowest in factual substance yet highest in playful reaction, attracted the greatest likes and comments, suggesting that entertainment intensity, rather than informational accuracy, drives measurable engagement. The qualitative phase employed semi-structured in-depth interviews with eight Thai viewers across four generations, triangulated with the creator's media interviews and audience comments. The results indicate that engagement is maintained through parasocial relationships and narrative transportation, which operate in mutually fortifying interactions: emotional attachment to presenters deepens immersion in historical narratives, while immersion strengthens attachment. A further finding is that the programme's knowledge-seeking queer (kathoey) community identity meaningfully revitalises the experience, lowering the boundary between learning and pleasure and fostering a sense of belonging. The study contributes to scholarship on digital edutainment, audience studies, and identity-based media communities, offering a culturally situated account of how Thai podcast audiences create meaning.
Authors:
Naphatrapee Suntorntirnan, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
About the Presenter(s)
Mr Naphatrapee Suntorntirnan is a University Assistant Professor/Lecturer at Assumption University in Thailand
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