Parasocial Interaction, the COVID-19 Quarantine, and Digital Age Media

Abstract

Parasocial interaction, or the one-sided relationships individuals form with characters from television and other media can have negative and positive outcomes. By noting the positive aspects of parasocial interaction and implementing them, individuals can improve their well-being. For instance, while parasocial interaction should not replace real relationships, the behavior can supplement them in filling social needs and decreasing loneliness. Such interaction is helpful for individuals when socialization is not attractive or possible due to a variety of causes. While this type of supplementation has typically been studied in the context of internal shortcomings, it likely also occurs when social deficits are invoked externally, such as through long-term work in remote areas. With the explosion of digital media in the last 25 years, opportunities to augment the fulfillment provided by real relationships with parasocialization have never been so great. Moreover, the recent COVID-19 quarantine greatly restricted real socialization. Those who live alone had e-mail and video calls to sustain them, but virtually no physical contact if they abided quarantine rules. During this time, people appear to have relied on social media and binge-watching streamed series to give themselves a feeling of connection with others more than ever before. The effect of such social surrogacy during the quarantine is only one of many parasocial interaction topics that emerge in the wake of the first wave. This paper will review the relevant digital era literature on parasocial interaction and suggest several areas of exploration into the phenomenon contributed uniquely by the quarantine.