Parasocial Relationship: What It Means and Why It Matters

Quick answer: a parasocial relationship is a one-sided emotional bond a person feels with someone who does not know them, such as a celebrity, influencer, fictional character or AI chatbot. Sociologists named it in 1956, and Cambridge Dictionary made “parasocial” its Word of the Year for 2025.

If you have ever felt genuinely sad when a long-running series ended, or felt you “know” a podcaster you have never met, you have a sense of what a parasocial relationship is. The idea began as a niche academic term about television audiences. It is now a mainstream word for how fans relate to stars, streamers and even software. This explainer covers where the term came from, what researchers have actually found, how social media and live streaming changed it, and why it became 2025’s word of the year. Every claim links to a source listed at the end.

What is a parasocial relationship?

The American Psychological Association’s APA Dictionary of Psychology defines a parasocial relationship as “a one-sided emotional connection between an individual and a real or imaginary individual that they do not know,” typically “a celebrity, performer, media figure, social media influencer, or artificial intelligence-based agent.” The key feature is that the connection is not mutual: the fan knows a great deal about the figure, while the figure does not know the fan exists.

Cambridge Dictionary defines the adjective “parasocial” in similar terms, as “involving or relating to a connection that someone feels between themselves and a famous person they do not know, a character in a book, film, TV series, etc., or an artificial intelligence.” Its entry lists common pairings such as parasocial relationship, parasocial interaction and parasocial grief. Researchers often shorten the terms to PSR (parasocial relationship) and PSI (parasocial interaction).

Nothing in either definition implies the bond is strange or unhealthy. It simply describes a kind of attachment that modern media make possible: feeling close to someone you meet only through a screen, a speaker or a page.

Where the term came from: a short timeline

The phrase is older than television’s color era. These are the milestones most often cited in the research and in Cambridge’s own account.

1. 1956: University of Chicago sociologists Donald Horton and R. Richard Wohl publish “Mass Communication and Para-Social Interaction: Observations on Intimacy at a Distance” in the journal Psychiatry. They describe radio, television and film as giving “the illusion of face-to-face relationship with the performer.”
2. 2004: Jonathan Cohen of the University of Haifa publishes a study of 381 Israeli adults on how viewers would react if their favorite TV characters were taken off the air, an early look at “parasocial break-up.”
3. 2009: Researchers Jaye Derrick, Shira Gabriel and Kurt Hugenberg report four studies on “social surrogacy,” the idea that favorite TV programs can provide a sense of belonging.
4. 2016: Jayson Dibble, Tilo Hartmann and Sarah Rosaen publish a widely cited paper in Human Communication Research separating parasocial interaction from parasocial relationship.
5. 2020: A meta-analysis in the Journal of Communication pulls together four decades of parasocial research.
6. 2021: Rachel Kowert and Emory Daniel describe live streaming as creating a “one-and-a-half sided” parasocial relationship.
7. 2023: Cambridge Dictionary adds “parasocial” to its dictionary, according to its editors.
8. November 18, 2025: Cambridge Dictionary names “parasocial” its Word of the Year for 2025.

Horton and Wohl’s original wording still reads as a precise description. They called “this seeming face-to-face relationship between spectator and performer a para-social relationship,” and noted that the interaction is “one-sided, nondialectical, controlled by the performer, and not susceptible of mutual development.” Their examples were 1950s radio and TV hosts. They wrote that the audience may see such a figure as “a friend, counselor, comforter, and model,” and that the figure is reassuringly predictable: “On television, Groucho is always sharp; Godfrey is always warm-hearted.”

Parasocial interaction vs. parasocial relationship

The two terms are often used interchangeably, but researchers treat them as different things. In their 2016 paper, Dibble, Hartmann and Rosaen describe parasocial interaction as a temporary sense of mutual awareness that a viewer feels during exposure to a media figure, for example when a presenter seems to speak directly to you. A parasocial relationship is a longer-lasting bond that continues after the show, video or song has ended. Their experiment with 383 participants also found that some popular survey scales measure one of these better than the other.

The difference matters because the two do not always go together. The 2020 Journal of Communication meta-analysis by Riva Tukachinsky, Nathan Walter and Camille J. Saucier found that parasocial relationships and parasocial interactions were only moderately correlated, which supports treating them as separate concepts.

What research says about parasocial relationships

Decades of studies have looked at who forms these bonds and what they do. A few findings come up again and again.

• They are not just for lonely people. The Tukachinsky, Walter and Saucier meta-analysis, which synthesized four decades of research (120 studies), found no significant link between social deficiencies and parasocial relationships. The authors concluded that such bonds extend people’s social lives rather than substitute for real relationships.
• Similarity and immersion matter. The same meta-analysis found parasocial relationships were associated with perceived similarity to the figure, identification with them and feeling “transported” into a story, and with persuasive outcomes.
• They can offer a sense of belonging. Derrick, Gabriel and Hugenberg’s 2009 studies in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology found that favored TV programs appeared to reduce feelings of loneliness and to buffer drops in self-esteem and mood after a threat to a close relationship. The authors described their results as preliminary evidence.
• Endings can hurt. Cohen’s 2004 study found that viewers expecting to lose a favorite character anticipated negative reactions similar to those after the end of a real social relationship. Those reactions were stronger when the parasocial bond was more intense and among respondents with an anxious-ambivalent attachment style.
• The brain treats close characters a bit like people. In a 2024 Scientific American interview, Ohio State University psychologist Dylan Wagner described brain-imaging work with Game of Thrones fans. Thinking about fictional characters generally activated the medial prefrontal cortex less than thinking about real people, but among people high in a trait called identification, close characters drew responses more like those to real acquaintances.

Wagner summed up the limits in the same interview: “One trick is that these relationships are not reciprocal: you can’t ask this person for relationship advice or support them through a tough time. But maybe they still give you a sense of belonging.”

How social media and streaming changed parasocial relationships

Horton and Wohl were writing about broadcast hosts who could not hear their audience. Today’s media figures can reply to comments, read chat messages aloud and post from their kitchens. Kowert and Daniel’s 2021 paper in Computers in Human Behavior Reports argues that live streaming, on platforms such as Twitch, makes the relationship “one-and-a-half sided,” because streamers can respond to some viewers in real time even though the bond is still far from equal.

Commerce follows attention. In a 2024 Harvard Health Publishing article, social scientist Arthur C. Brooks of Harvard said social media stars try to build parasocial relationships with followers to get clicks and make money: “That’s what the new economy is all about – monetizing parasocial relationships on a mass scale.” The 2020 meta-analysis’s link between parasocial bonds and persuasion helps explain why brands value creators whose audiences feel they know them. For more on how fame is built and talked about, see our explainer What Is a Nepo Baby?, and for a fandom culture built around close, very online contact with fans, read What Is K-Pop?

The newest frontier is artificial intelligence. Both the APA and Cambridge definitions now explicitly include AI. Simone Schnall, professor of experimental social psychology at the University of Cambridge, told the Guardian that “parasocial trends take on a new dimension as many people treat AI tools like ChatGPT as ‘friends’, offering positive affirmations, or as a proxy for therapy.”

Why “parasocial” became Cambridge’s 2025 Word of the Year

Cambridge Dictionary announced its choice on November 18, 2025. “Parasocial captures the 2025 zeitgeist,” Cambridge Dictionary editor Colin McIntosh said in the announcement. “It’s a great example of how language changes. What was once a specialist academic term has become mainstream.” He told the BBC that the word “was originally coined as an academic word and was confined to the academic sphere for quite a long time.”

The Guardian reported that Cambridge cited Taylor Swift’s engagement to NFL star Travis Kelce as one of the year’s parasocial moments, alongside the rise of AI chatbots as confidants. Schnall said in Cambridge’s release that “the rise of parasocial relationships has redefined fandom, celebrity and, with AI, how ordinary people interact online.” Cambridge’s blog also noted that “parasocial” is only the second adjective to be named its Word of the Year, after “paranoid” in 2016.

Is a parasocial relationship healthy?

Research generally treats parasocial relationships as a common part of media use rather than a disorder, and the evidence above points both ways. Harvard Health Publishing lists possible upsides, including entertainment, inspiration, comfort and feeling part of a cultural moment. It also lists downsides: these figures “won’t love you back,” heavy reliance on them could add to isolation, and followers may pick up unhealthy ideas. Schnall told the Guardian that, as trust in traditional media breaks down, people turning to influencers can end up in “unhealthy and intense relationships” with social media stars.

CelebRelay is not a health publication and this is not medical or psychological advice. If a relationship with media, a public figure or an AI tool is affecting your wellbeing, a qualified professional is the right person to talk to.

How we approach this

This explainer is about an idea in media research and culture, not about any public figure’s private life. We rely on peer-reviewed studies, dictionary publishers and major news organizations, and we quote people only where their exact words were published by a reputable source. We don’t publish rumors or net-worth estimates. Read more in our editorial standards and about CelebRelay, or browse more culture explainers in The Edit. Definitions and research evolve, so this article reflects sources as of October 2026.

Parasocial relationship FAQ

What is an example of a parasocial relationship?

Common examples include feeling you personally know a favorite podcaster, YouTuber or streamer, feeling attached to a TV character, or caring deeply about a celebrity’s milestones. Horton and Wohl’s original 1956 examples were radio and television hosts who spoke directly to their audiences.

What is the difference between parasocial interaction and a parasocial relationship?

Parasocial interaction is the in-the-moment sense of mutual awareness while watching or listening, such as a host seeming to talk to you. A parasocial relationship is the longer-term bond that lasts beyond viewing, as described by Dibble, Hartmann and Rosaen in 2016.

Who coined the term parasocial?

University of Chicago sociologists Donald Horton and R. Richard Wohl introduced “para-social interaction” and “para-social relationship” in a 1956 paper in the journal Psychiatry, subtitled “Observations on Intimacy at a Distance.” They studied how audiences related to radio, television and film performers.

What is parasocial grief?

Parasocial grief is the sadness people feel when they lose a one-sided connection, for example when a celebrity or fictional character dies, a series ends or a band breaks up. Cambridge Dictionary lists it among the word’s common uses, and Cohen’s 2004 study found anticipated losses resembled real relationship breakups.

Can you have a parasocial relationship with AI?

Yes, according to current definitions. Both the APA Dictionary of Psychology and Cambridge Dictionary now include artificial intelligence in their definitions, and Cambridge’s 2025 Word of the Year announcement highlighted people treating AI chatbots as friends or confidants.

Sources

• American Psychological Association, “Parasocial relationship,” APA Dictionary of Psychology.
• Cambridge Dictionary, “parasocial” (dictionary entry).
• Cambridge Dictionary blog, “Cambridge Dictionary Word of the Year 2025” (November 18, 2025).
• Cambridge University Press & Assessment, “Parasocial is Cambridge Dictionary Word of the Year 2025” (November 18, 2025).
• The Guardian, Dan Milmo, “Feel a connection to a celebrity you don’t know? There’s a word for that” (November 18, 2025).
• BBC News, Cambridge Dictionary Word of the Year 2025 report (November 18, 2025).
• Horton, D., & Wohl, R. R. (1956). “Mass Communication and Para-Social Interaction: Observations on Intimacy at a Distance”. Psychiatry, 19(3), 215–229.
• Cohen, J. (2004). “Parasocial Break-Up from Favorite Television Characters: The Role of Attachment Styles and Relationship Intensity”. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 21(2), 187–202.
• Derrick, J. L., Gabriel, S., & Hugenberg, K. (2009). “Social surrogacy: How favored television programs provide the experience of belonging”. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45(2), 352–362.
• Dibble, J. L., Hartmann, T., & Rosaen, S. F. (2016). “Parasocial Interaction and Parasocial Relationship: Conceptual Clarification and a Critical Assessment of Measures”. Human Communication Research, 42(1), 21–44.
• Tukachinsky, R., Walter, N., & Saucier, C. J. (2020). “Antecedents and Effects of Parasocial Relationships: A Meta-Analysis”. Journal of Communication, 70(6), 868–894.
• Kowert, R., & Daniel, E. (2021). “The one-and-a-half sided parasocial relationship: The curious case of live streaming”. Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 4, 100150.
• Scientific American, Daisy Yuhas, “Parasocial Relationships Can Tell Us a Lot about the Social Brain” (July 29, 2024).
• Harvard Health Publishing, Heidi Godman, “Do parasocial relationships fill a loneliness gap?” (September 30, 2024).

Featured image: a vintage television showing static in a dark room lit by a red wall and a lamp, photo by Taha Hatipoğlu on Unsplash, used under the Unsplash License. It is an illustrative image, not a photo of any person, show or study mentioned in this article.