Why Your Favorite Celebrity Probably Doesn't Know Your Name 

BY LUCIA SABATELLI '26

The faint flicker of your alarm clocks reads “12:20 a.m.”. Your eyes droop, heavy with sleep, yet just before you can succumb to the irresistible urge, your computer screen comes to life and displays your favorite celebrity: “LIVE from Los Angeles.” You swear that despite the distance, they are speaking to YOU, to your past and current struggles. Scouring the internet, the countless interviews demonstrating a charming personality sends your admiration spiraling into devotion. A simple liked comment on Instagram sends your hopes soaring. That celebrity is no longer an unfamiliar face on the billboards, but your friend, your confidante. Whether it be Elvis, Taylor Swift, or BTS, the personal connection one forms through a screen is a parasocial relationship, occurring when an individual devotes their time and energy into a public figure but receives no personal connection in return. With the rising popularity of social media platforms, celebrity fascination is at its peak, yet the parasocial relationships formed as a byproduct are increasingly unhealthy. 
    
Although the term ‘parasocial relationship’ was first coined in 1956 by Donald Horton and R. Richard Wohl, its history spans far beyond the official term. For instance, the famed author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle felt the overwhelming presence of parasocial relationships in 1893, after the publication of a controversial end to Sherlock Holmes in The Final Letter. He was bombarded with over twenty thousand letters mourning the loss of their beloved character, despite Sherlock being a fictional character existing only within the pages of the book. Nevertheless, parasocial relationships are especially embedded in the DNA of social media. Now, finding a celebrity’s relationships, vacations, and political opinions are all the more accessible, and people develop heightened feelings of attachment. Furthermore, the rise of Tiktok edits has increased obsession because the short, thirty-second clips magnify a celebrity’s small movements. Moreover, social media allows a 24/7 access to one’s online persona, and the ability to comment and interact with a celebrity slightly bridges the gap between the follower and the public figure. Many are drawn to online parasocial relationships because they don’t risk rejection with an idolized celebrity; however, this freedom often results in negative impacts for the celebrity and the individual. Influencers on an Instagram feed are curated personas who have eliminated any trace of morning eyebags or late night sob sessions. Thus, the lives of celebrities are distorted through the lens of social media, forced onto a pedestal, while curating a false, flawless, reality to encapsulate perfections that teens are unhealthily obsessed with.     

Overall, the lack of limits in parasocial relationships heighten the issues associated with interactions between celebrities and fans. First, parasocial relationships can contribute to immense feelings of isolation, distracting many from the opportunity for real, interpersonal connections to form. Furthermore, parasocial relationships prey on vulnerable teens and result in an unequal comparison between celebrities and oneself. In today’s day and age, they are increasingly prevalent; in fact, a study conducted at Wellesley College in 2019 concluded that 61% of teens reported viewing their favorite public figures as relationship partners. Similarly, parasocial relationships have negative implications for celebrities because their daily actions are analyzed through ‘celebrity sighting’ tiktoks or secretive paparazzi shots, eliminating individuality in a celebrity and melding them into an object for public entertainment. Ultimately, celebrities are often unable to share their struggles without shattering the public image they created. Additionally, celebrities are criticized for new relationships and are unable to date in privacy. For example, Harry Styles was bombarded with hateful comments on Twitter and Instagram due to his new relationship with Olivia Wilde; fans felt immense betrayal, despite not knowing him in real life. The online threats and negative messages were endless, demonstrating the ability for parasocial relationships to create a lack of boundaries between the personal lives of celebrities and their fans.
    
That being said, parasocial relationships are not inherently harmful, as they bring a source of income for public figures and act as a form of solace for fans. Although said relationships may foster a sense of community and allow the celebrity to formulate a sense of individuality, the gap between celebrities and followers creates unhealthy standards for both parties. Ultimately, parasocial relationships attempt to intertwine the complicated world of fame and fortune with the daily lives of teenagers and other individuals, entangling everyone in a web of false realities and relationships.