For example,
if a viewer feels like they are hanging out at the Dunder-Mifflin office while watching the TV comedy The Office, they are engaging
in a parasocial interaction.
Dangers of A Parasocial Relationship
Parasocial relationships can become problematic when taken too far. In the most extreme situation, a
parasocial relationship becomes toxic when it crosses the line into stalking
.
Parasocial relationships are one-sided relationships, where one person extends emotional energy, interest and time, and the other party, the persona,
is completely unaware of the other's existence
. Parasocial relationships are most common with celebrities, organizations (such as sports teams) or television stars.
Parasocial interaction refers to a faux sense of mutual awareness that can only occur during viewing. In contrast, parasocial relationship refers to a longer-term association that may begin to develop during viewing, but also
extends beyond the media exposure situation
.
- Speak Directly to Your Audience. Speak to your audience, like you are talking to them directly. …
- Use Real Stories. …
- Mingle With Your Audience. …
- Create an Idealized Version of What Your Audience Want. …
- Become a Part of Everyday Life.
In 1956, social scientists Donald Horton and R. Richard Wohl first described an interesting phenomenon occurring among the increasingly TV-obsessed American public: Viewers were forming “parasocial relationships,” or the “
illusion of a face-to-face relationship
,” with performers.
A parasocial interaction, an exposure that garners interest in a persona, becomes a parasocial relationship
after repeated exposure to the media persona
causes the media user to develop illusions of intimacy, friendship, and identification.
While parasocial relationships are
nothing
new, digital media has opened new doors for people to feel connected. Studies have found that these parasocial relationships can help put people at ease, particularly useful for those with low self-esteem, calming their fears of social rejection.
According to PBS.com, anyone can engage in this risky behavior, but it is most prevalent with individuals with
low self-esteem and social anxiety
. They use these relationships to deal with societal rejection. This type of relationship is most dangerous when engaged in by children.
Parasocial relationships are actually perfectly normal and in fact psychologically healthy
. As humans we are built to make social connections and so when we're presented with a person through audio or video, we seek to establish a bond with them.
In looking first to the ill effects of parasocial relationships, they include
aggression, the behavior causing problems with real-life relationships
, and media addiction and dependency. For instance, those who have PSRs with celebrities sometimes progress to celebrity worship.
No matter the circumstances of the parasocial breakup, it can be helpful to focus on
self-compassion
(it's okay and makes sense that you're feeling how you're feeling about it; work on letting go of self-criticism and self-judgement about having feelings), self-care, and reaching out, connecting with, or leaning on …
Donald Horton and Richard Wohl
first introduced the concept of parasocial relationships, along with the related idea of parasocial interaction, in the 1950s. Although the relationship is one-sided, it is psychologically similar to a real-life social relationship.
Why do we get attached to celebrities?
People get attached to celebrities
because they feel like friends
. You see them all the time. People think they know the celebrity's personality based on the character(s) they play. If they identify with a character, they identify with the actor believing the two to be similar.
Technically speaking, celebrity crushes are
a kind of “parasocial relationship
,” involving unrequited affection flowing from fans. But the dynamic isn't exactly one-sided: Celebrities actively encourage the loyalty and affection of their followers (understandably!).
Why do we get emotionally attached to celebrities?
Celebrities. … Forming
an emotional bond of sorts with an actor or other celebrity
, fueled by absorbing media pertaining to them through the web, television or a tattered copy of our favorite novel, reaffirms our end of the relationship without their being any actual reciprocity from the object of our affections.
