If your mood depends on your favorite singer’s concert schedule or you talk about the soccer coach as if he owes you something, you may have created a parasocial relationship. This is the name given to all types of pseudolinks that we establish with characters, real or fictitious, who appear in the media and with whom we usually feel a high degree of identification. These connections, marked from the deepest admiration to the worst animosity, are to a certain extent promoted by the actors themselves, politicians or content creators who seek to address a specific target audience.
The American psychologist Donald Horton and the Canadian sociologist Richard Wohl defined parasocial relationships in 1956 as the close and intense relationships that, unilaterally, individuals with a media personality create. These people normally feel like the only recipients of celebrities’ messages and go so far as to distort their role, to the point of feeling like an intimate friendship, with the power to impact their behavior, decisions, or even their emotional well-being.
For a person to develop a parasocial bond, it is necessary for them to be repeatedly exposed to a certain media character, whether it is a singer, an athlete or a renowned actress. These people tend either to identify with these celebrities, or to project their own desires, goals or needs onto them.
People who feel alone or isolated are more likely to develop these pseudo-relationships and are not only interested in the celebrity’s profession, but also tend to investigate the places they frequent or their personal tastes. On the other hand, factors such as low self-esteem, extraversion or empathy also influence, which drives some people to idealize and admire depending on which characters with whom they develop parasocial relationships.
Some parasocial relationships last as long as a television show. For example, there are people capable of empathizing with the participants of a daily contest, to the point of shouting words of encouragement at the screen. Others can last for a season, as in the case of reality shows, whose contestants can detest or idolize. More lasting would be the relationships that involve characters with successful professional or sports careers, those that force their followers not to miss a concert, a competition or the broadcast of a new series.
On the positive side of parasocial relationships is the personal satisfaction that this type of entertainment marked by admiration provides. This escape route is capable of improving our mood thanks to the identification and feeling of belonging that is created around certain characters, through a community of fans of a creative universe or the support of a soccer team, for example. . Just watching these celebrities overcome their own goals and challenges can also become a source of inspiration and motivation for individuals.
However, the development of parasocial bonds usually entails the weakening of real interpersonal relationships, due to the investment of time and energy they require. Sometimes they can even create a certain emotional dependence and, in the worst case, feelings of disillusionment and disappointment when these characters do not meet our expectations. For example, if a band withdraws from the music scene, the individual may feel betrayed.
