Parasocial Relationships

Parasocial relationships are definitely a topic that I was most interested in this semester. I was very invested in the discussion because I felt that it directly applied to my life, as well as many of my friends.

Let me tell you about my roommate, Kolbi. Kolbi is in love with Jax Teller, the President of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle club, and the star of the popular television show, Sons of Anarchy. Kolbi binge watched the entire series on Netflix to get caught up to the weekly episodes in a matter of weeks. During this time, Sons of Anarchy was brought up in daily conversations when Kolbi would tell all of our roommates why she was in love with Jax and how she would marry him one day.

After walking into the house one day to Kolbi lying on the floor and crying in the fetal position because Jax just held his dying wife, I knew she had a problem. However, I was not sure what this problem was until we discuss parasocial relationships in class. According to the Rhetorical Power of Popular Culture,  parasocial relationships are “one-sided relationships where one party knows a great deal about the other party, but the other does not.”

Since our discussion in class, I have realized that I have established many parasocial relationships throughout my life. Netflix fuels the fire for many people I know because it allows viewers to watch episode after episode. Watching episodes in the privacy of their own home, they are able to connect with the characters as details are revealed. In turn, these details create a sense of realism because the characters become believable and their experiences are relatable. Therefore, it is easy for viewers to feel personally connected to the television characters.

It is easy to judge people like my roommate for their obsessions, but it is important to remember that producers and streaming sites like Netflix should be taking some of the blame.