When the line between fan and creator become blurred
Introduction:
Parasocial relationships are relationships — however, they are entirely one-sided. One party expresses the interest and dedicates all of the energy and time into the relationship, whilst the other party is completely unaware of their existence. The most common parasocial relationships are between fans and celebrities, as well as teams or brands with their fans.
With the persistent and massive growth of social media, there are more and more people and content available to the public sphere that is the internet, there has been a rise in this type of single-sided attachment. As social media allows for more people to be seen and interacted with, and also allows celebrities more direct contact with the people who idolise them. Because of the constant flow of content and ‘shared’ events, it has become easier than ever for parasocial relationships to form through a screen. Many people today feel like they know their idol on a deeper and more personal level, at least when compared to the time when television and magazines were the only way to access celebrities and content.
Thus, today the construct of the parasocial relationship cultivates faster and even stronger than ever before. Social media allows for 24-hour access to users and their content, therefore, the potential to create a parasocial relationship increases. Some celebrities have been created from a following built from social media alone, and as the appeal of these creators is the illusion of friendship and comfort with the viewer, there is a stronger possibility to form a strong, and even deluded parasocial relationship.
Traditionally, people who engaged in parasocial relationships were viewed as pathological and associated with loneliness, isolation and social anxieties. However, there have been studies that contradict this belief, finding that there were no correlations between engaging in parasocial relationships and loneliness. But when does this favouritism become too much, and even counter-productive? And is there a line to where being a ‘stan’ means being a stalker?
First things first, what is a stan, and where did the name come from? My first thought goes to Eminem’s 2000 hit ‘Stan’, a song in which the rapper takes on the persona of a very real and very obsessed fan. The song chronicles his spiral into madness over his aggressive and deluded love for Eminem, which ends with the fan, Stan, committing a murder-suicide. While it was a very disturbing narrative for a hit song, this could also very well be the origin of ‘Stan’, as an obsessive fascination with a celebrity or social figure is very much was ‘Stans’ are known for doing. Many believe that fans would never go far enough to murder over an obsession over an idol, however, many forget that sometimes the celebrities themselves die at the hands of their own fans. Many people forget that a man mailed a bomb to the home of the singer Björk and killed himself because he was a fan. The famous singer, Selena, was killed by the president of her own fan club. There was also the notorious case wherein John Lennon was shot by a crazed fan. Many people do forget that these things happen, but they are all examples of how parasocial relationships can go very wrong, wherein lines of both human-decency and reality are blurred.
Stanning has highlighted its presence in common media, so much so that it has become a verb in youth-vocabulary, in which someone can say that they ‘stan’ someone, to express that they agree with what that person stands for, or just takes a general liking to them, uses vary from serious to sarcastic. While it is perfectly fine to have an idol, there comes a point where one can love their idol too much… Celebrities have been a staple of culture for as long as there have been cultures, but social media has allowed anyone to have a shot at becoming a celebrity. It is in the design of social media sites to incite loyalty to a certain personality or account, otherwise, there wouldn’t be tools that enable idolisation, likes, comments, likes or the allowance of notifications of when someone in particular posts. As mentioned, this phenomenon of people idolising a celebrity or figure in a parasocial exchange is not new but has since evolved now that anyone with some form of public presence is required to maintain some type of social media account.
Social Media:
It is common for many to become more familiar with celebrities of the social media kind, in that someone is more likely to be successful on social media if they have a quality that brings audiences back to their content. Some rely on familiarity, in that content has quirks or sayings that make the relationship between the viewer and the creator as one of friendship. Some viewers feel that they really know the creator as a person, considering the intimate nature of some content, especially if the content is based around a creator's everyday life, wherein the viewer is shown their home and what they deal with. Therefore, it has never been easier for parasocial relationships to form between a content creator and the viewer.
Most modern parasocial relationships rely on the idol providing a constant stream of content over a long period of time and also rely on the fan taking any opportunity to engage when it’s available to them (via comments). Parasocial relationships are becoming more intertwined with a modern and technologically inclined society, where it is normal to seek interaction and show adoration for people that most likely have no idea that the person exists, this is in the form of celebrity idolisation. In many cases, this place of basic interaction with no escalation (as well as a safe awareness of the existence of a parasocial relationship, wherein boundaries are respected) is the place someone reaches before stalking happens.
For the individual, parasocial relationships could lead to a good self-learning experience, in that it can show what traits a person values through their choices in idolisation.
As young people grow, the idea of living in a world before technology and social media becomes more and more distant and unimaginable. Scholars theorise that traditional celebrities just aren’t as relatable to audiences (particularly millennials) anymore, whereas social media stars are. This is because traditional celebrities are usually linked to PR or some form of product, whereas social media celebrities feel a lot more attainable and unfiltered.
In recent years, this has led to popular social media stars experiencing cases of fans finding their home addresses, and visiting them without permission, which is an incredible violation of personal space and privacy. While the fan feels like the idol is their friend and like they know them really well because they watch their content, sometimes the line of decency can be forgotten.
The obvious positives of parasocial relationships are that it is a way for someone to feel connected to other people, with almost no risk of being rejected, unlike with most other relationships. It is something safe for people to admire, and with the introduction of social media, it has become easier to gain access to another person, at least visually, not physically or socially. Studies have pointed to parasocial relationships as a way to boost someone's confidence, as admiring someone can lead to adapting qualities, which can improve the confidence of someone who may have low self-esteem. This is because people tend to pick a celebrity who they see as an ideal person, and with parasocial relationships having a very low risk of rejection, can offer low self-esteem people an opportunity to reduce their self-discrepancies and feel closer to their ideal selves. It’s like how young children look up to their favourite superhero or character, so they can emulate what they like about that character and can express it through play. Their favourite hero may not exist, let alone know about the child’s existence, but yet, the child still feels that they have a friend or a role-model in that beloved character.
Often people will speak about their use of parasocial relationships as a coping mechanism during childhood, without realising that they were in a parasocial relationship. Parasocial relationships can serve as a self-learning experience about what values are attractive to people. It is a part of growing as children and is helpful for people who have low self-esteem to emulate and relate without social risk. To a certain level, they are beneficial to the community, when the parasocial relationship with an idol becomes worship, and that can leave the fan in a position of disadvantage.
Conclusion:
While parasocial relationships have their place in society, social media has made it more likely for them to form, and at a faster pace, due to a near-constant flow of new content available. Social media has created an environment where mainstream and unique celebrities can be reached by fans and influence masses, so it is also the environment for flourishing parasocial relationships.
Parasocial relationships also have evolved with the public sphere, with the name “stan” becoming synonymous with obsessive fans. That is the step before stalking, in which the parasocial relationship is at risk of becoming a very real and very negative one, for both parties involved.
It’s clear that the concept of parasocial relationships is not going to disappear, fans will always find something or someone to idolise. It has been this way for generations and has experienced many adaptions, and societal expectations reshape and evolve. As social media becomes more inclusive and invasive into the lives of those who choose to produce content, there will be more opportunities to explore what parasocial relationships mean to different people.
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Picture: Mar Portal del Pozo/Getty Images https://www.thecut.com/2017/09/why-am-i-so-invested-in-strangers-social-media-presences.html