THE PARASOCIAL SPHERE: WHY ARE WE ATTRACTED TO OUR BIAS?

Exploring celebrity fascinations in the context of parasocial relationships and parasocial interactions.

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Be it a series, a movie, a book, a reality show, a music band, or any other relative matter, there’s always that one character or one member that matches our vibrations well in comparison to the rest. For me, this person happened to be Kim Namjoon; leader of the South-Korean super-group; BTS. 2018 was the year, and Fake Love was the song that got me into their avant-garde music. As I got immersed into the group and got to know them more, I got convinced that Kim Namjoon is the man of my dreams. Yes, a man I can only have in my dreams. I fell in love with his rap style, and then I fell in love with his beautiful mind, and eventually, I fell in love with his entire existence.

I have had two or three celebrity crushes before but it was all short-lived and not too intense. Come to think of it, I probably had those crushes just for the sake of having a crush. But with Namjoon, it is axiomatically different. When the man first caught my attention, I felt a sense of closeness with him despite the initial unfamiliarity. It felt like Cupid was following me with his arrows. Everything seemed Cupidy. Why do we feel this way? Why do we get so attracted towards our bias and feel so connected with them when our knowledge of them is limited to the virtual world? I kept interviewing my brain with these questions and it gradually led me to conduct a small research in the psychological context.

THE ONE-SIDED RELATIONSHIP:

Parasocial relationship is the audience’s psychological relationship with the performer, often labelled as an experience of illusion. The term was coined by Horton and Wohl in 1956. It’s what we usually term as “mentally dating a celebrity who has no idea of our existence.” Initially, it was viewed as an abnormality resulting from being unsocial. However, nowadays, celebrity fascinations have become prevalent and long since come to be viewed upon as normal. It’s a digital world and the presence of social networking sites have brought us closer to feeling connected with the celebrities we admire.

Parasocial interaction, on the other hand, is the interaction between the performer and the audience. For instance, imagine you’re watching RUN BTS. While watching the episode, when you feel that you’re with them experiencing it all in your head and when you also provide reaction to their actions, this is parasocial interaction.

• Before I put you in an unbearable ennui of explaining it in detail, you can read about it here for a better understanding.
  https://www.findapsychologist.org/parasocial-relationships-the-nature-of-celebrity-fascinations/

A FAMILIARITY IN UNFAMILIARITY

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We get into parasocial relationships because it generates emotional wellness. It makes us feel associated and connected. There may be certain things that we do not like about ourselves but when we see that same characteristic in our bias, we start to accept ourselves more. At times when we feel low about ourselves, we find peace in the thought that the person we admire the most is similar to us.

Another reason why we get involved in it maybe because we see the things we can be in our bias. Their accomplishments feel like our own. They may be the person who we ourselves want to be. Even though this is often described as a one-sided relationship, the person involved actually feels that there is someone who he or she can look up to and be dependent upon. It is also believed to lead one to virtual recluse but that differs from person to person for one may actually find friends and become social because of the mutual fondness. Speaking of it, ever since I became an ARMY, I have made few genuine friends online through my fan account and it makes me feel so accepted and loved. The world seems like a happier and better place. It makes me feel that socializing is not rocket science after all.

We also involve in such relationships because many a times, it can be our source of inspiration. To put it well, everyone needs an impetus to do more and for me that impetus is provided by Kim Namjoon. To me, he is a man who keeps his claws sharp, he is someone who I aspire to be.

Some view celebrity obsession as unhealthy. However, I opine that such a view is a limited perception for this is an idea which is open to interpretation, an idea that should be judged in the light of the individual taken into account. There can be positive outcomes and there can be negative outcomes of this type of relationship and it all depends upon the individual whether he or she chooses to make good or bad out of it.

If they encourage you to be a better person, if they make you feel loved, if they make you feel less lonely without their physical presence, that is enough.

This article is open to interpretation so please leave your thoughts below. Let me know who your bias is and why you feel so connected. I will be very happy to hear from your side.