parasocial relationship, n.Trivia

Sociologists ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠Donald Horton and Richard Wohl coined the term in a 1956 paper in Psychiatry subtitled "Observations on Intimacy at a Distance."

Cambridge ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠Dictionary made "parasocial" its 2025 Word of the Year, with a definition that now explicitly includes bonds with an artificial intelligence.

A ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠1985 study found parasocial interaction was not correlated with loneliness, undercutting the stereotype of the isolated fan.