In Defense of Parasocial Relationships

I’ve been juggling parasocial relationships for most of my life. As a newly online kid in the 1990s, I downloaded programs that helped me make fan art featuring my favorite bands: Dashboard Confessional, Something Corporate, and Blink-182. Now, a couple decades later, I refer to these artists by their first names (Chris, Andrew, Mark) to my friends and family and passionately defend them on internet forums. Thanks to TikTok and Instagram, I can tell you with authority what their kitchens look like, what their dogs are named, and what they put in their morning smoothies. Is it any wonder I feel like I know them? [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Internet arbiters might call me unhinged or tell me to get a (better) hobby. But actually, experts say, parasocial relationships aren’t nearly as toxic as public perception makes them out to be. Decades of research suggest that they’re good for the majority of people who engage in them—and for the celebrities on the other side. “I fell into studying fandom because I became a passionate fan of something myself,” says Lynn Zubernis, a clinical psychologist who loves the TV show Supernatural, which aired from 2005 to 2020. “And I was instantly like, ‘Oh my god, have I a.) lost my mind, or b.) discovered something wonderful?’” Her children assumed it was the former—but that didn’t align with her experiences, or with mine. There’s a good chance that yo...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized healthscienceclimate Mental Health Source Type: news