5 | Our Imperfect Personal Lens
KEY THEME: Our perceptions and biases filter our experiences of the world through an imperfect personal lens.
Research Story Parasocial Relationships
Have you ever felt like you really knew someone or had a meaningful relationship with, say a person on social media or a celebrity, without having ever met them or interacted with them in real life? You’re not alone! These one-sided relationships that feel like meaningful connections are a psychological phenomenon known as parasocial relationships. The distinguishing factor here is that they are non-reciprocal – so where you might feel like you really know them, they might not even know who you are.
Parasocial relationships were first defined by psychologists in the mid 1950’s in response to a rise in mass-media and the relationships individuals started to feel like they had with the performers on television and radio such as the famous Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz from the show I Love Lucy. These types of relationships are a perceived one-sided relationship with another person as if that person were an actual friend or peer.[1] A parasocial relationship extends past just viewing the person or character as a media figure or fictional character but includes the belief in the potential for a relationship or treating that figure as a real-life relation. These can be pseudo relationships with a real person, such as a celebrity, athlete, or social media presence. However, these relationships are not limited to real people but can also occur with fictional characters such as a character from a book, movie, TV show, or video game. Example figures for parasocial relationships can include real people like Taylor Swift or members of a band like BTS or One Direction, and some examples of popular fictional characters someone can form a parasocial relationship with include Harry Potter (Harry Potter), Daenerys Targaryen (Game of Thrones), or Percy Jackson (The Lightning Thief).
Parasocial relationships tend to be formed at an early age, but anyone of any age can develop a parasocial relationship. For example, teens tend to form parasocial relationships with a wide variety of celebrities and characters[2], but they tend to be figures who have a very large media presence[3]. Not only are parasocial relationships formed with a large range of people and characters, but there are also several forms a parasocial relationship can take, such as friendships, familial relationships, mentorships, and even romantic relationships[4]. There is research to suggest these parasocial relationships can decrease loneliness or increase social support in certain populations. Though, the literature is mixed in terms of the overall findings of benefits with having parasocial relationships on isolation, and social support.
Past research suggests gender differences in the strength and types of parasocial relationships formed, with boys tending to view their parasocial relationships as mentors while girls te