A parasocial relationship is a term on the rise when it comes to influencer and fan relationships. The term is defined as “a one-sided, psychological bond where a person invests emotional energy, interest, and time into a media figure, celebrity, or fictional character who is unaware of their existence.”Â
This theme seems to be the most present in female influencers who have a strong following on the platform TikTok, specifically with a fan base of teenagers or young women. These types of relationships seem to be more prevalent in the field of influencing because an influencer’s job is essentially to share many intimate and personal moments of their life as opposed to an actress or singer, because their fame is rooted in the media and art they’re producing. I would say most people that tend to develop these parasocial relationship traits tend to be what is known as “chronically online,” which is someone who has a very high amount of screen time, making them knowledgeable about what is going on online.Â
Essentially with these fans that are chronically online, they tend to develop these traits of giving these influencers expectations as if they were a close personal friend, when truly you only know this influencer due to the way they present themselves online and not who they are in a face-to-face interaction. These expectations not only destroy a person’s fan base, but also the influencer’s platform by creating false narratives on the influencers’ beliefs or certain personality traits or habits one might possess.Â
Since I am based in New York City, I feel confident in talking about what the most common parasocial expectations tend to be, which is politics. In the current state of our country, advocacy is very important and these influencers do have a lot of power and money, but most of them probably don’t have a degree in humanities or a background in advocacy work. I also do believe in unfollowing someone when they don’t have the same beliefs as you, but when influencers do speak up about politics, many fans will criticise them no matter what they say, which is a little unfair because again, at the end of the day, their job is not to be a part of our government or even to be your friend.Â
Many creators will see comments that ask them to speak up on current issues when that is not what the foundation of their content or brand is. Another instance is with privacy, especially creators’ addresses or buildings. In a large city like New York, many fans try to figure out what neighbourhoods or even buildings these creators live in by asking for apartment tours or views from their homes as well. This is not just an invasion of privacy, it is also a safety concern. Relationships are another big concern for creators who have been kind enough to share the life they share with a partner online, but they often face a rise in criticisms and rumors about their relationship. In recent years, these themes have been seen in the comment sections of many creators such as Katie Richie, Halley Kate, and most recently creator Demetra Dias. These three female creators focus their content on fashion, beauty, and lifestyle; all three creators are between the ages of 18-25. They all have shared thoughts on each of the topics mentioned above, but all three creators face backlash and many invasions of privacy when it comes to being bearable and honest with their fans.Â
As an avid media consumer, the topic I truly see take the cake with these three women is their romantic relationships. To start off with Kate, she had an on- and off-again boyfriend Reed who had done some shady things within the influencer community, but ultimately the two decided to get back together and are now engaged. Many fans don’t agree with the couple’s rekindling, but at the end of the day, it truly isn’t our business. After Richie’s most recent relationship with her ex-boyfriend Cody, she has also given fans hints that she will no longer be sharing her next romantic relationship online because of how the feedback fans were giving after the couple’s break up was just magnifying the pain and stress of the situation. Lastly, Dias had shared her relationship with ex-boyfriend Hudson, and after the two decided to call it quits, she now faces many comments calling her a liar or cheater and essentially having her “fans” pick apart aspects of their romantic relationships.Â
These fan behaviors are dangerous habits to be spreading as well as implement into our everyday lives when it comes to media consumption, especially on the platform TikTok when viewers attack influencers for what they post online; it only will negatively affect the influencers’ mental health and how comfortable they feel with sharing such intimate details about their day online. It can also harm the viewers because you as the viewer are adapting and becoming comfortable with using such negative and critical language in your everyday life. While also having such a focus on the lives of influencers can persuade fans to become more isolated due to believing that these creators are present in our lives when that is truly not the truth. Finally, as an avid social media user, I believe we can all practice better online habits that truly help us enjoy the content being created by our favorite influencers while also creating space for us as fans to understand how to disconnect from the media we are constantly consuming.