PARASOCIAL

Parasocial interaction (PSI) refers to a kind of psychological relationship experienced by an audience in their mediated encounters with performers in mass media. PSI is described as an illusory experience, such that media audiences interact with personas (e.g., talk show hosts, celebrities, fictional characters, social media influencers) as if they are engaged in a reciprocal relationship with them. The term was coined by Donald Horton and Richard Wohl in 1956. Parasocial interaction can happen through many kinds of media, including TV shows, podcasts, livestreams and social platforms where creators speak directly to viewers. The term first became widely used when researchers tried to explain why TV and radio personalities could feel familiar to audiences. Now it is used far beyond those formats. Social media and live-streaming make the feeling easier to sustain, since people get constant updates and a more casual tone. As a result, the connection can develop across time and influence how audiences react to public figures. Due to readily available media resources and the amount of time spent on media resources, children and teens are easily subjected to developing parasocial relationships at a young age. Studies involving longitudinal effects of parasocial interactions on children are still relatively new, according to developmental psychologist Sandra L. Calvert. A parasocial interaction can also be brought by repeated exposure to the media persona. Positive information learned about the media persona results in increased attraction due to trust and self-disclosure provided by the media persona, and the relationship progresses. Media users are loyal and feel directly connected to the persona, much as they are connected to their close friends, by observing and interpreting their appearance, gestures, voice, conversation, and conduct. Media personas have a significant amount of influence over media users, positive or negative, informing the way that they perceive certain topics or even their purchasing habits. While not universal to all parasocial interaction, a strong component of PSI are fantasies in which an individual develops ideas of romantic and sexual intimacy with a media persona despite not being in any reciprocal relationship with them. Such romantic and sexual fantasies with media personas can have varied effects, including both negative and positive.