Parasocial relationships: The feeling's not mutual

Never meant to be. If the isolation of the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s just how much we rely on our relationships to get through the day. Locked down with only FaceTime and fantasy to get us through, the boundaries between connections “real” and imagined are increasingly non-existent. So don’t fret if all that screen time has made [the gang in Friends]( start to feel a lot like a gang of your actual friends; you’ve just crossed into the realm of the parasocial—a parallel world where one-way connections with celebrities or fictional characters have all the intensity of a reciprocal relationship. These bonds, while first formally articulated in 1956, have existed wherever humans have been able to create “intimacy at a distance.” Recent research reveals parasocial relationships can shape everything from what we buy and who we vote for to how we feel on a daily basis. It’s no illusion. Let’s make direct contact. 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( [Quartz Weekly Obsession] Parasocial relationships February 10, 2021 Never meant to be --------------------------------------------------------------- If the isolation of the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s just how much we rely on our relationships to get through the day. Locked down with only FaceTime and fantasy to get us through, the boundaries between connections “real” and imagined are increasingly non-existent. So don’t fret if all that screen time has made [the gang in Friends]( start to feel a lot like a gang of your actual friends; you’ve just crossed into the realm of the parasocial—a parallel world where one-way connections with celebrities or fictional characters have all the intensity of a reciprocal relationship. These bonds, while first formally articulated in 1956, have existed wherever humans have been able to create “intimacy at a distance.” Recent research reveals parasocial relationships can shape everything from what we buy and who we vote for to how we feel on a daily basis. It’s no illusion. Let’s make direct contact. 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( By the digits [$2,500:]( Cost of a personalized video message from Caitlyn Jenner on Cameo as of 2020 [129.2 million:]( People who follow former US president Barack Obama on Twitter, the most followed account on the platform [81%:]( Increase in the average number of Tweets sent by members of the US Congress, between 2016 and 2020 [435,000:]( Peak viewers on US congressperson Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Twitch debut, one of the biggest debuts on the platform [21 months:]( Age by which children begin to learn best from onscreen characters they’ve formed bonds with over time [90%:]( Young adults who say they’ve had a “strong” attraction to a celebrity Origin story On the same wavelength --------------------------------------------------------------- In 1956, social scientists Donald Horton and R. Richard Wohl [published]( their research on an intriguing phenomenon in mass communications: “para-social interaction,” or the viewer’s “illusion of a face-to-face relationship with the performer.” Radio, TV, books, and movies could all create this “intimacy at a distance,” but the authors noted certain individual performers proved better at eliciting this bond than others. Horton and Wohl, for example, spent a lot of time writing about their own apparent paramour, “[The Lonesome Gal]( a nightly broadcast from a girl “without a name or a history” who monologued in a “throaty, unctuous voice” at the “lover” listening on the other end. “The Lonesome Gal was inundated with thousands of letters tendering proposals of marriage,” Horton and Wohl wrote, “the writers respectfully assuring her that she was indeed the woman for whom they had been vainly searching all their lives.” Quotable “That person will never let you down, and there are no burdens and requests placed upon you.” —[Gail Basch, psychiatrist, to Slate, about the allure of celebrity crushes]( Giphy Membership Quartz loves you back --------------------------------------------------------------- To prove it, we’re giving you 50% off a Quartz membership with code QUARTZLOVE. [Feel the love]( Brief history [~535 BCE:]( Thespis, an ancient Greek, takes the stage to speak as his character, instead of himself, becoming the world’s first recorded actor. [1844 CE:]( German critic Heinrich Heine dubs the fan frenzy over Hungarian composer Franz Liszt “Lisztomania,” which would inspire the name “Beatlemania” more than a century later. [1903:]( The first known usage of the word “fandom,” per Merriam-Webster. [1933:]( President Franklin Roosevelt begins to give his signature radio addresses, the Fireside Chats, on matters of national importance. [1956:]( Social scientists Horton and Wohl coin the phrase “para-social interaction.” [1962:]( “Uncle” Walter Cronkite, for decades known as “the most trusted man in America,” takes the anchorman’s seat on CBS’ “Evening News.” [1981:]( John Hinckley, Jr. shoots US president Ronald Reagan in an attempt to impress actress Jodie Foster. [2000:]( Eminem’s song “Stan” drops, subsequently giving rise to the slang “stan” for a super-devoted fan, though the song paints a rather unflattering picture. [2011:]( Twitch, the live streaming service, launches in the United States. [2020:]( In one of a number of successive political acts, K-pop stans prank US president Donald Trump, claiming thousands of tickets for a rally in Oklahoma, and then leaving the seats empty. Giphy Explain it like I’m 5! With a little help from my friends --------------------------------------------------------------- No one seems to be immune from parasocial relationships, but how they affect us can vary from person to person, and at different points in people’s lives. In childhood, for example, these bonds can be an important part of learning through the media. [Studies have shown]( that children who connect with Elmo can learn more from the puppet than other characters, for example. As adults, the bonds can serve as a [buffer from social isolation](. Celebrity crushes are much easier to maintain than two-way romantic relationships, but in certain ways are still satisfying. Unfortunately, our deep attachment to fictional characters can cause real grief: Research shows that the [end of so-called “narrative brands,”]( like the nearly-decade-long run of Game of Thrones, triggers in some fans a profound sense of loss. Million-dollar question What are parasocial politics doing to our democracy? --------------------------------------------------------------- It may have originated in the world of entertainment research, but the word “parasocial” [now applies to our politics](. Psychologists at the University at Buffalo [showed]( that parasocial bonds with Donald Trump, formed over the years-long run of The Apprentice, influenced “unlikely voters” in the 2016 election. “Those bonds made them more likely to believe Trump’s promises, discount his unpopular statements, and see him more positively overall,” according to Vox, even when the researchers controlled for things like income, education, and previous political affiliation. What exactly parasocial bonds mean for the future of governance is unclear. An individual persona can operate outside traditional party politics; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s greatest successes in advancing a leftist agenda have been on digital media, not the House floor. But these ties also seem to stoke rabid fandoms like Trump’s, who may prioritize their faves over the common good. Now, as John Street, a political scientist and pop culture scholar at the University of East Anglia in England, told Vox, “it’s all about how you achieve that [power] and not what you’re supposed to do once you have it.” Giphy Pop quiz How do research subjects typically describe the strength of parasocial bonds? As strong as their relationship with their best friend.As strong as their relationship with their neighbor. As strong as their relationship with their mother. Correct. Incorrect. No. A little weaker! If your inbox doesn’t support this quiz, find the solution at bottom of email. The way we 😍 now Para-social media --------------------------------------------------------------- The latest developments in mass communications are taking the “para” out of parasocial relationships. Platforms from Twitter and Instagram to Cameo and OnlyFans now allow celebrities to interact with their audiences directly—turning this “intimacy at a distance” into something of a two-way street. Perhaps no modern American celebrity plays this game better than Taylor Swift. In addition to her mass communications on her favorite social media platforms, Swift is known for directly [commenting]( on her fans’ Tumblrs, [inviting]( hundreds of them to her home for listening parties, and sometimes [sending]( them Christmas gifts. These are life-changing moments for fans. But for Swift, it’s just good business: The star uses parasocial media “to oversee and control the online conversation about [her music] and her fandom,” writes Sarah White, a communications studies student at California State University, Sacramento, [in her graduate thesis](. take me down this 🐰 hole Looking to form a parasocial bond? May we suggest [Twitch]( the livestreaming service, which has traditionally connected popular gamers to millions of viewers. As the game (or tarot reading or [livestream of raccoons eating]( advances, fans can chat in real time, and streamers [often engage directly]( with their commenters, fostering a [sense of community]( the streamer and their fans, and among the streamers’ fans—over time. Watch this In 2017, YouTuber Shannon Strucci (known as StrucciMovies) began releasing a serialized video essay, “[Fake Friends]( With a run time of more than two hours, it walks through examples ranging from human-robot interactions to the penguin Grape-kun, who “fell in love” with a cutout of a character from an anime series placed in his zoo enclosure. “It’s one of the best works I’ve seen about the ways technology is shaping how we relate to one another,” [according to Hyperallergic](. Giphy Poll How many parasocial relationships do you have? [Click here to vote]( None. That’s silly.A handful. They’re hard to resist!One—it’s with you, Quartz. 💬 let's talk! In last week’s poll about [bubbles]( 51% of you said the US stock market is obviously in a bubble right now. We’ll see, 51% of you, we’ll see. 🤔 [What did you think of today’s email?]( 💡 [What should we obsess over next?](mailto:obsession%2Bideas@qz.com?cc=&subject=Obsess%20over%20this%20next.&body=) 🎲 [Show me a random Obsession]( Today’s email was written by [Eleanor Cummins]( edited by [Susan Howson]( and produced by [Jordan Weinstock](. [facebook]( The correct answer to the quiz is As strong as their relationship with their neighbor. . Enjoying the Quartz Weekly Obsession? [Send this link]( to a friend! Want to advertise in the Quartz Weekly Obsession? Send us an email at ads@qz.com. Not enjoying it? No worries. [Click here]( to unsubscribe. Quartz | 675 Avenue of the Americas, 4th Fl | New York, NY 10011 | United States