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Writer's pictureProject Inclusion

Parasocial Relationships: The Line Between Fiction and Reality

Updated: Nov 29, 2022

By Sanya Rohilla

So much of our everyday online interactions revolve around "fandom" spaces, where people come together to discuss, gush, and even cry over celebrities and fictional characters.

That's what a parasocial relationship is all about: One-sided relationships in which one person expends emotional energy, interest, and time while the other party is entirely unaware of the existence of the other.


The Modern Parasocial Relationships
Parasocial relationships existed before the introduction of entertainment forms like TV and radio, but the onset of mass media has resulted in the influx of such relationships in great numbers. Not all parasocial relationships, however, lead to parasocial attachments. Nonetheless, the fascination people have started having with fictional characters, celebrities, and the like has impacted how they view their surroundings, real-life relationships, and interactions with people online. Think about your favourite blogger, vlogger, social media influencer, singer, or actor. If you constantly wonder about their life, how similar they are to you or how you could be good friends, you might be in a parasocial relationship!

The rise in such relationships is also acutely related to the rise in the time we spend online and the time spent consuming various forms of media. It is, after all, somewhat expected of people to be enamoured with Phoebe Buffay or Zendaya when we are locked inside our homes with no other means of entertainment.

The Impact

Individuals in parasocial relationships frequently express gratitude to their favourite personas for assisting them in getting through difficult times. Furthermore, some believe that these personas have significantly shaped their own identity. The support that parasocial relationships provide is extremely valuable to the viewers who participate in them. The impact of a positive role model in such cases is necessary, as it helps in inculcating positive values like kindness.

The introduction of parasocial relationships has been quite new in humans’ evolution; it was only in the 20th century that personas could be identified by a mass through radio or television. Humanity has still not evolved to distinguish between a face we know in real life and fiction, or only as a celebrity. If a celebrity is exposed enough to you, you start developing a likeness for it (known as the repeated exposure effect, which also has a catch…). Repeated exposure only works so far. After a time, you might start getting annoyed at the mere mention of a name. Thus comes the dissolution of parasocial relationships. “Breakup” in parasocial relationships is handled differently by different people, as is the case in breakups of interpersonal relationships.

So... Are They All Bad?

Such relationships are completely normal, healthy, and might even be encouraged in times like the recent pandemic. However, excess of everything is evil. Parasocial relationships should never govern the social relationships of a person, they should only be a complement to them. Today, celebrities and corporations use such tactics to deepen parasocial relationships with them or their characters, but they also deeply hamper the smooth functioning of an individual. Care must be taken to ensure that we might not fall into this trap.


Author:
Sanya Rohilla
Editorial Head, Project Inclusion

Sanya is currently pursuing psychology honours from Daulat Ram College, Delhi University. She loves music, poetry, bingeing media and overanalysing said media. She is eager to help change the world for the better and to make the community around her a safer and more open place to live in.
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