Parasocial Friendship is Magic: An Exploration of Parasocial Relationships, Loneliness and Self-Esteem

Abstract

Parasocial relationships refer to a perceived relationship between a television viewer and their favourite character. The relationship occurs when a viewer misinterprets a character’s scripted actions as an interaction directed towards them, despite no physical interaction occurring. Some literature suggests that this relationship may protect a fan from negative mental health outcomes, but it is currently unclear if there are discernible benefits that stem from television viewing. The current study aimed to examine the role parasocial relationships may play in relieving feelings of loneliness related to low self-esteem. This was measured through an online Qualtrics survey distributed across four English-speaking countries. Participants were asked to identify how closely they related to their favourite television character, what their main reason for watching television was and how they rank their current self-esteem and level of loneliness. The main method of analysis used was a mediation model to determine if parasocial relationships could mediate the relationship between loneliness and self-esteem. Unfortunately, there were no statistically significant findings in the mediation model. However, the study found that older participants were more likely to engage with television due to loneliness than younger participants were and those with higher levels of self-esteem were more likely to watch television for entertainment purposes rather than as a coping mechanism to boost their mood.