Jess the Vampire Slayer

On Parasocial Relationships -  Buffy and I are just some misunderstood girls trying to make it in the real world.  In high school, we were trying to balance our life of crime fighting with a normal teenage lifestyle.

When I first watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer I was in elementary school. I then re-watched the series in high school. Buffy and I had a lot in common when I got older: the typical teenage outcast feeling, daddy issues, and homework problems. We both dreamt about older boys a lot. I looked up to her because it seemed that Buffy always tried her best to do the right thing, while remaining super cool and mysterious. For many instances in the show I would think to myself, “Come on Buffy, just tell your mom you’re the slayer,” or “Don’t hide your super strength, they deserve it.”

I would go to sleep dreaming about being in an all girl motorcycle gang or joke around and ask my friends if they wanted to take any tae kwon do classes (it was only a joke because none of them wanted to). I didn’t have any powers so I had to compensate. I wanted to be a sort of vigilante also. This probably had to do with too many superhero shows in general, but Buffy was the most influential in my youth.

Buffy and I aren’t as close as we were in high school but the show is still one of my favorites. For me, exposure time affected how strong the parasocial relationship was.  The more time I spent watching the shows and working my way through the seasons, the stronger the bond grew. I think parasocial realationships form because we all long for camaraderie and inclusion. Keeping up with healthy work, friend, and family relationships require a lot of effort. To keep up with a parasocial relationship all you have to do is turn on the TV.