Parasocial

A recent word to describe a pseudo-relationship that a viewer feels with a public performer. This is an increasing phenomenon given the unprecedented access that social media has given us to the lives of public figures. There used to be a clear separation between viewer and performer, but that has diminished over time, resulting in this neurosis.

From Wikipedia:

[…] repeated exposure to the media persona causes the media user to develop illusions of intimacy, friendship, and identification. Positive information learned about the media persona results in increased attraction, and the relationship progresses. Parasocial relationships are enhanced due to trust and self-disclosure provided by the media persona.

From The Blurred Lines of Parasocial Relationships: The disappearing divide between “followers” and “friends”:

The openness and candor with which many online creators speak is more than many average people would divulge to friends and family, and more than friends and family might divulge to them.

For some, these information bytes form the basis of a parasocial relationship: instead of discussing a recent video posted by “someone they follow,” a fan might speak about “someone they know,” going so far as to refer to their favorite creator as a friend.

Why I Looked It Up

From the article linked in the description.

Postscript

In a Vice article entitled Why You Feel Like You’re Friends With Your Favorite Celebrities, I found this:

Giving fans casual and constant peeks into their lives are just some of the ways idols can “reciprocate” fans for their time and energy, Felix said. Other ways include showing intimacy during live meetups, speaking words of affirmation (saying they love their fans or that the fans are their source of strength), and doing what might be called acts of service (like answering fan questions and doing dares).

Parasocial relationships seem to be a product of the two-way aspect of social media.