Parasocial Relationships in the Digital Age

Description

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22304447

Annie and Prachi Bisht (Department of Human Development and Family Studies, PAU Ludhiana, Ludhiana, Punjab)

The prevalence of social media platforms has transformed how people connect with media and personalities, giving rise to parasocial relationships. The connections formed with celebrities, influencers and content creators have gained influence over the widespread population, leading to one -sided emotional bonds and affecting their social behavior. The objective of this review is to scrutinize the prevalence, impact, development and implications of parasocial relationships in the digital era. The review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA, 2020) guidelines. The literature was examined using various databases including ScienceDirect, ResearchGate, ERIC, Science.gov, BASE, and Sage for studies published between 2015 and 2025. Studies that focused on parasocial relationships in digital media and their emotional, psychological, and social outcomes were taken into consideration, whereas non-English and non-peer-reviewed studies were excluded. Initially, 22 studies were looked at, out of which 10 met the criteria based on relevance. The findings revealed that parasocial relationships offer positive influences by offering social connection and reducing loneliness, which contributes to enhancement in emotional well- being. On the other hand, these one- sided connections lead further to the development of dependency, comparison, reliance on others, and reduced interactions in real-life connections. Altogether, the review reinforces that these relationships have become an integrated part of daily life routine by excessive involvement of digital media. The review stresses the inclusion of digital literacy and balanced consumption of social media platforms by continuing more research.