Twitter is all about parasocial relationships and interactions these days but what is it? What’s all the buzz about? Parasocial is not a new term but recently it was used on twitter by the fans of John Mulaney and actress Olivia Munn for the people who were critical about their relationship with the fans.
It’s only 3-4 months back that people started talking about parasocial relationships and interaction. Until then I was completely unaware of this phenomenon. I mean I had heard of a one sided love story but parasocial relationships are slightly different from that.
In this article I am planning to cover all the important information about a parasocial relationship. Let’s begin with understanding the meaning of the word ‘parasocial’ first…
What’s The Meaning Of ‘Parasocial’?
According to the dictionary, Parasocial is defined as a one-sided relationship. It is a combination of two words para + social, Para means Near or next to and social basically meaning relating to the society or social media or being outgoing or knowing off someone.
Basically parasocial means that you think you know someone because you have seen them a lot in your society, culture or social media but in reality you just ‘know off’ them, you don’t really know them personally.
What Is The Meaning Of A Parasocial Relationship?
Parasocial relationships can be defined as having a one-sided relationship with someone who might not even be aware of your existence. Usually ‘parasocial’ is used in relation to the relationship shared by the media viewers and a mideo persona.
Simply put it is a relationship between two people, one of which is a fan and the other might be a celebrity or a public figure who is often featured by the media. It is also known as an illusion of friendship. The easy access to public figures because of social media through their personal profiles have made people get a sense of perceived closeness.
For example, if you are an iron man fan and you feel like you know him completely, relate to him, feel joy or sadness when something good or bad happens to him, you most likely share a parasocial relationship with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.).
What’s The Psychology of Parasocial Relationships
The exact reason as to why someone might develop a parasocial relation is unclear as of now. But it has been seen in various studies that loneliness is one factor which was constant in each study.
There might be other psychological reasons too but loneliness surely has something to do with parasocial relationships. When you are lonely you might incline towards a parasocial relationship to kill the loneliness. Lonely people might resort to a perceived friendship with a media persona so that they feel a little less lonely.
Another psychological factor that is responsible for a parasocial relationship might be low self esteem. People with low self esteem might indulge in a parasocial relationship only to increase their self esteem by modeling the social life of a person who has a high self esteem.
Fear of rejection also had a scanty presence in some of the studies. Since there is no scope of getting rejected because you can’t physically reach the celebrity or public figure, you’ll never be rejected in this kind of relationship (after all it is a one-sided relationship)
Also read: Are We Teaching Attention Seeking Behavior to Our Children via Social Media?
Is A Parasocial Relationship Dangerous?
There are mixed views about this Parasocial relationship being dangerous or not. Some people argue that having a parasocial relationship is completely normal. It has been said that as we are social animals, forming a parasocial relation can come naturally to us.
Many others have a counter argument, which I personally agree with. They say it can be dangerous if the fondness increases beyond limit. The relationship should not turn into an obsession.
When your parasocial relationship turns into an obsession there is a high chance you develop erotomania. Erotomania is when you fall madly in love with a person who isnt even aware of your existence and you can go any limits for them.
Also read: When Affection Turns To Obsession: Understanding Obsessive Love Disorder
Examples Of Parasocial Relationships
Most celebrity stalkers begin their obsession with their parasocial relationship with a public figure. Other than that there are various behaviors that point towards a parasocial relationship. For example:
You change your body language just like your parasocial partner,
You change your likes and dislikes according to your celebrity crush/friend,
You write emotional comments on their posts frequently,
Go on a war with hater of the celebrity,
Daydream about them a lot,
Do everything that they are doing, whether is a holiday or a new hobby, etc
That’s all about a parasocial relationship. I hope you enjoyed reading the blog. Are you in a parasocial relationship? Do comment down below if you wish to read more about parasocial relationships.
Thanks for reading.
Take care and stay safe.
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