Creating Parasocial Relations of Contemporary Youth

Authors:

Pages: 337-355
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54664/NQIM9453

Abstract:

Social networks are a space where media-aware people present their lives through statuses and photographs. Many media-known, popular personalities are models of the current young generation, who are their fans, followers, people who respect their opinions, imitate them, but often want to resemble them enough to suppress their own identity. In mediated contact with a media-known person, it is necessary to distinguish between parasocial interactions and parasocial relationship. The basic premise for the development of parasocial interaction and later the formation of a parasocial relationship is always the one-sided activity of the percipient of media content. However, the quality of this relationship is questionable, as contact with a media- known person is not straightforward, and therefore the degree of idealization increases. D. Giles (2012: 78) characterizes it with a state where a percipient obtains the feeling that s/he knows a well-known person, even one can feel that is close to that person. The aim of the paper will be to monitor the intensity of parasocial relationships and their consequences in the life of a young person.

Keywords:

social networks, celebrity, parasocial relations

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