10 cards
Parasocial relationship (n.) is a one-sided bond a person feels with a celebrity, creator, fictional character or AI who doesn't know them.
Cambridge Dictionary made "parasocial" its 2025 Word of the Year, with a definition that now explicitly includes bonds with an artificial intelligence.
Parasocial relationship (n.) is love that never risks rejection because it never risks contact.
A 1985 study found parasocial interaction was not correlated with loneliness, undercutting the stereotype of the isolated fan.
Parasocial relationship (n.) is a warm "hey guys" spoken to a revenue stream.
Parasocial relationship (n.) is a relationship you can end at any moment, and they'll never notice.
Parasocial relationship (n.) is intimacy by broadcast: addressed to "you," meant for millions.
Parasocial relationship (n.) is a friendship where only one of you showed up.
Sociologists Donald Horton and Richard Wohl coined the term in a 1956 paper in Psychiatry subtitled "Observations on Intimacy at a Distance."
Parasocial relationship (n.) is knowing a stranger's dog's name while they'll never learn yours.