By Aly Cohen
With social media at our fingertips, the ability to interact with celebrities is more accessible than ever before. Do you want Justin Bieber to see your drawing you made for him? Just tag him on Instagram. Do you want that Real Housewife to know that you supported her when she threw that drink at her friend? DM her on Twitter. You might even get a reply back. However, the availability to reach out to celebrities online and their public-facing personas can create a guise of a relationship between the audience and the celebrity. This phenomenon is known as a parasocial relationship and it is created by parasocial interactions.
What is a Parasocial Interaction?
Have you ever seen your friend comment on their favorite celebrity’s Instagram post something like “you look gorgeous bestie”? What about tweeting “I love you” to a celebrity? These are both examples of parasocial interactions. Parasocial interactions are a semblance of an interpersonal interaction and they occur when “members of an audience come to feel that they personally know a performer they have encountered in mass media.” People process parasocial interactions in a similar way that they process face-to-face interactions, despite their knowledge that the connection is through a digital medium.
What is a Parasocial Relationship?
Parasocial relationships are “non-reciprocal socio-emotional connections with media figures such as celebrities or influencers.” People in parasocial relationships with a celebrity or public figure feel connected despite the fact that the celebrity is likely unaware of this person. Continued parasocial interactions can cause a parasocial relationship where the person feels comfortable and secure with the celebrity. Someone must interact with the celebrity or view their content frequently to form the parasocial relationship. Parasocial relationships are heightened by the algorithms of social media apps that allow highly specific and personalized content to find its desired audience. For example, if someone is a fan of Harry Styles on Tik Tok and searches for a video with him in it, they are likely to get several videos of him on their for you page. People often refer to their favorite celebrities as their best friends, see them as role models or when there is romantic affection, call them boyfriend or girlfriend. This emphasizes the feeling of a relationship between both parties.
Who is Most Likely to Foster Parasocial Relationships
There are a variety of identities that are likely to hold Parasocial relationships. To begin with, young adults and children are likely to have parasocial relationships. This is due to their difficulty distinguishing between reality and fantasy. A lot of children’s content includes the actor speaking directly to them. For example, one of the most popular children’s entertainers right now is Ms Rachel on Youtube. In her videos, she speaks directly to the kids and invites them to sing, dance, spell and more with her. This allows kids to feel close to her and encourages them to continue watching. Additionally, people searching for a sense of belonging are likely to hold parasocial relationships. People who feel isolated in their daily lives are likely to lean into the online world and find it easier to connect with media personalities. They can relate to the celebrity or influencer as well as the community that follows them. Many people experience parasocial relationships to a certain extent. It’s estimated that 51% of Americans have had parasocial relationships.
Celebrities and Influencers Perpetuating Parasocial Relationships
Parasocial relationships can be beneficial to celebrities and influencers because their audience is part of their business model. For traditional celebrities like movie stars and pop singers, their online presence is part of what allows their audience to invest in their recent projects. Artists often make themselves accessible to fans in person through concerts and meet and greets which can make the parasocial relationship feel reciprocated. Fans scramble to get noticed at concerts by shouting in moments of silence and holding signs with attention-grabbing phrases. If a celebrity responds, it can feel extremely rewarding. When it comes to influencers, interactions with their audience builds a foundation of trust so they are likely to purchase the product and believe their reviews. This is beneficial for the influencer and the company that sponsors them. The more frequent and personal the interactions are with their audience, the more likely a parasocial relationship is to develop. When influencers give their recommendations in an authentic way, the audience feels a sense of friendship and familiarity with them.
Celebrities and Influencers encourage their audiences to “buy in” to their public persona so they will literally financially support their endeavors.
Positive Aspects of Parasocial Relationships
Parasocial Relationships allow celebrities to have a positive influence on their audience. For example, Taylor Swift has recently been a hot topic in the media because she has not endorsed a candidate for the 2024 election. Politicians know that Taylor Swift has a large following that she has great influence on so they are eager to get her endorsement. When she encouraged her audience to register to vote, vote.org noticed a 1226% jump in participation after her post. People with a parasocial relationship to Taylor are likely to vote in the same way that she does because they feel like they are taking advice from a trusted person in their life. Parasocial relationships also can encourage audiences to promote positive change in their lives. If a trusted celebrity or media figure is encouraging self-improvement, the audience will likely follow suit. Oftentimes, people form parasocial relationships to celebrities or public figures that have qualities, lifestyles or careers that they aspire to have. Holding these parasocial relationships can motivate people to pursue their passions and achieve their goals.
The Dark Side of Parasocial Relationships
Parasocial relationships can have a negative impact on people when they become unhealthy. To begin with, parasocial relationships can cause poor body image. When someone wants to replicate the characteristics they admire of a celebrity, this sometimes includes physical appearance. This leads to an unhealthy comparison between themselves and celebrities, who oftentimes have unrealistic and unattainable physical standards. People who are obsessed with celebrities often have mental health struggles. They suffer from anxiety, depression and dissociation. These symptoms can become exacerbated when negative events happen with the celebrity they have formed a parasocial relationship with. For instance, Robin Williams was a prevalent figure in many people’s childhood. Those who felt connected to him in a parasocial relationship likely felt the grief of losing him more strongly. The intense-personal connection to celebrity can increase to borderline-pathological in extreme cases. Borderline-pathological parasocial relationships can become dangerous when fans become violent or stalk the celebrities.
The Future of Parasocial Relationships
As new technology develops, it allows parasocial relationships to develop even further. Artificial Intelligence makes it possible to replicate different aspects of favorite celebrities. For example, Meta introduced a feature on Instagram called Meta AI, utilizing the likeness of many well known celebrities like Kendall Jenner, Snoop Dogg and Tom Brady. This feature allows users to communicate with these celebrities’ AI personalities and ask them questions. In the corner of the screen, there is a video of the celebrity making facial expressions based on the message you sent. Artificial Intelligence technology is now able to generate the voices of celebrities to say or sing whatever a person desires. It’s also possible to generate AI responses in the style of a certain celebrity. This can allow fans to feel like they are communicating with the celebrity themselves. Platforms like OnlyFans and Cameo put access to celebrities behind a paywall. OnlyFans is primarily a platform for sex workers but celebrities also use it to post exclusive content and subscribers can pay to send messages to their favorite celebrities. Cameo allows users to pay a celebrity to respond to their message in a video format. There is a wide range of celebrities on Cameo, such as Caitlyn Jenner who will create a video for $2,500 and Teresa Guidice from the Real Housewives of New Jersey. They also have a messaging feature similar to OnlyFans. Overall, the ability to reach celebrities or simulate their responses is becoming more and more possible.
I like that you highlight both the negative and positive outcomes of parasocial relationships. Unfortunately, I feel like they’re pretty much unavoidable, especially when you consider musicians writing their own music and being vulnerable through their art. A lot of people feel closer to musicians through the experiences they share in their music. This whole thing made me very curious about what parasocial relationships looked like before social media. - Erin Muñoz
Wow for one, I have never heard of the term parasocial relationship and defiantly not with celebrities and social media. This really had me engaged. The fact about the amount of influence Taylor Swift has in the 2024 election is actually a little concerning and it surprised me. I don't know how you thought of this topic but it's really good and it seems like you really researched your topic. - Maren Franklin
Parasocial relationships with celebrities seem like they have the potential to be really destructive but they also feel kind of inevitable. Our culture idolizes celebrities and, with our unlimited access to information on the internet, we can literally know as much about a celebrity as we might about a friend. Your last section makes me wonder how these relationships will affect future generations, as the line between stranger and friend seems to be becoming blurrier with the omnipresence of social media and AI.
-Lexi Oybkhan
This is a very interesting and relevant topic you have chosen Aly! I like how you listed the benefits as well as the dangers of parasocial relationships and interactions. Much like many other technologies and forms of media, the positives and the negatives are fairly even, which ultimately eliminates the idea of this being a very black-and-white topic. There are many gray areas and it makes me wonder what the future will bring with AI and technology when it comes to parasocial relationships.
-Clare
The AI aspect is really interesting and something I hadn't thought about the consequences of in this context. You make really interesting points that this could intensify the extent that people are influenced by parasocial relationships. Do you think this has long term effects, or something children/ young adults will grow out of in time?