Besides forming digital connections, social media enables users to access a wealth of information across cyberspace. That information includes users’ personal data, sharing notes on community platforms, and trending news and current events. In an age where connection is a form of capital, users can earn a living by building an online presence, where the number of views and likes on a social media post equates to dollar signs. Coined as influencers, these digital creators dually possess measures of social and digital credibility enough to “influence” viewers’ opinions or buying decisions, heavily implied by their sizable follower count.
Influencers existed well before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the pandemic’s mandatory quarantine prompted users to seek out a playful pastime to offset feelings of loneliness through online communities. Enter the platformization of TikTok. This worldwide cultural phenomenon permanently changed the meaning of “celebrity culture,” as more creators gained traction through their content niche. The admiration of a celebrity is a natural human behavior and has always been deeply ingrained in pop culture. However, the evolution of social media blurs the lines between celebrities, their fans, and critics. Thus, begging the questions: Is it normal to know this much about other people? And is this amount of access fanning the flames of parasocial behavior?
What is a parasocial relationship?
The term ‘parasocial interaction (PSI)’ first appeared in American sociologists Donald Horton and R. Richard Wohl’s 1956 academic essay, “Mass Communication and Para-Social Interaction: Observations on Intimacy at a Distance.” Though radio was already a popular broadcast media platform, television began surging in popularity during the 1950s. According to Britannica, only 9 percent of Americans owned a television in 1950, but that figure increased to 85.9 percent by 1959. Horton and Wohl’s essay dissected the visual medium while unpacking viewers’ heightened fascination with media personalities and television show characters, as if their preoccupation indicated a real relationship. Parasocial relationships are one-sided emotional attachments. “The individual on the receiving end of that attachment is often unaware of the fan’s existence, yet the fan may feel a deep connection, loyalty, or even personal claim over them,” Susan Guerrero, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), told GU.
How do these illusory bonds form?
Well, there isn’t a single answer to this question. However, one is that the human brain craves emotional connection. Another possibility is loneliness, with some research suggesting that the more lonely a person feels, the more liable they are to form parasocial relationships, per Psychology Today. Though other research suggests parasocial relationships aren’t an outcome of loneliness. Still, the interpersonal dynamic is solely one-directional. “Fans may feel like they ‘know’ the person, but the emotional investment is not reciprocated or even acknowledged,” Guerrero stated.
Has social media contributed to the rise of parasocial behavior?
Social media further complicates parasocial bonds. As influencers, content creators, vloggers, and streamers sometimes rival the same stardom as traditional celebrities, they, too, are exposed to an abundance of parasocial interaction from their followers. Furthermore, social media curates a smoke screen of digital intimacy that may subconsciously convince viewers that they share a personal connection with the celebrity. Typically, this can also call the celebrity’s humanity into question. Why do some fans become upset if a celebrity acts contrary to the fans’ expectations of them? Though this interrogative inquiry doesn’t apply to the imperativeness of human rights or disapproving prejudicial attitudes. Reactionary behavior grows more complex when preconceived biases are a relevant factor.
Oftentimes, fans’ emotional reactions stem from a sense of betrayal, which, in turn, can bring about public ridicule of the celebrity in the modern-day interactive spectacle that is: the comment section. And anyone can be gangster in the comment section. “When we’re interacting with each other in one-dimensional avatars, it’s often hard to remember that these are actual people with real feelings and real lives,” commented Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, licensed psychologist and founder of the Therapy for Black Girls platform and podcast. “There is often a scary tendency to think about celebrities and influencers as Sims characters as opposed to human beings.”
What is a practical example of parasocial behavior?
With reference to Sims characters, that is the histrionic frame of mind of some viewers regarding the social response to the immersive world of reality television. You love to hate it, and you hate to love it. Notably, Peacock’s Love Island USA broke multiple viewership records in 2024, earning the title as the most-streamed reality program in the U.S for its sixth season. Similarly, Love Island USA’s Season 7 brought the reality dating show to new heights. The program’s seventh season garnered 1.9 billion minutes watched from July 7 to July 13, reaching the No. 1 overall spot for streamed shows, per a Nielsen report. Evidently, millions of viewers’ screens were turned on, as thousands of fingers flooded the contestants’ social media comment sections before, during, and after each episode aired with opinions. Because, as we all know, a lot has happened this season, specifically referencing the onslaught of cyber hate and racism inflicted on the show’s Black women contestants, Olandria Carthen and Chelley Bissainthe.
Like many others, Guerrero also watched Season 7 of Love Island USA. “ For some, it’s just entertainment; for others, it’s an escape from reality,” she said. But as people tune in to get away from their own lives, there’s often this subconscious belief that stepping into the cast’s reality somehow makes it theirs too.” One of Love Island’s marketing strategies is to engage audiences through voting for contestants and couples, especially with real-time interaction. (The show has a 1-2 day delay.) However, as viewers’ desires to constantly stay informed of contestants’ whereabouts or relationship status progress, in essence, so can their parasocial behavior. For Black women contestants like Olandria and Chelley, some of that parasocial behavior can stem from the racial biases held by audiences on how they already perceive Black women to be. It’s a tale as old as time. So, we must ask ourselves: Is it possible to fully know a person from an edited 60-minute program?