Defining Parasocial Relationship Experiences

Abstract

The chapter offers a conceptual definition of parasocial relationships as a distinct construct, and it explores its theoretical relationship to other related phenomena. It defines various types of parasocial relationships, and it outlines the scope of these experiences, including their prevalence across different media formats, channels, and platforms and different types of media content. The chapter explicates how parasocial relationships are different from, yet related to, other media experiences, such as parasocial interactions, parasocial attachment, fandom, celebrity worship, and character identification and to what extent they can be applied to describe other forms of engagement (e.g., with brands).