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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

parasocial en · ADJ

Etymology

From para- + social, coined by American sociologist Richard Wohl, together with American anthropologist, sociologist, and communication researcher Donald Horton in 1956.

Meanings

  1. (not-comparable) One-sided (especially of a relationship, as for example that between a celebrity and their audience or fans, whom they do not know).
    • Donald Horton and R. Richard Wohl coined the term parasocial interaction in 1956 to describe the imaginary interactions between the audience and TV variety show hosts, noting the “seeming face-to-face relationship” that viewers developed […] [2006, Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, editor, Encyclopedia of Children, Adolescents, and the Media, SAGE Publications, →ISBN:
    • a parasocial relationship
    • In the past, parasocial relationships occurred predominantly with television or film celebrities, but now these […] celebrities openly share their opinions and activities through various social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook. 2016, Molly Marshall, AQA Psychology Student Guide 3: Issues and debates in psychology, Hachette UK, →ISBN:
    • With the advent of AI chatbots, the ethics of parasocial relationships just keep getting murkier. Introducing: CarynAI, a voice-based chatbot that was trained to mimic a human influencer to become your artificial girlfriend. 2023 May 11, Maggie Harrison, “Influencer Creates AI Version of Herself That You Can Rent as a Girlfriend”, in Futurism:
    • And yet for every creator for whom parasocial relationships are an unintended byproduct of their work, there are many more – influencers, YouTubers, vloggers – who actively cultivate that faux-intimacy with their followers, softening them up so that they might more easily ply their wares, be that waist trainers or make-up brushes. 2022 February 13, Otegha Uwagba, “Too close for comfort: the pitfalls of parasocial relationships”, in The Guardian:

Relateds

parasocially · parasociality · have the advantage of someone

Translations (4)

cmn gachi (Translations) · pl parasocjalny (Translations) · de parasozial (Translations) · fr parasocial (Translations)