parasocial relationship
In plain wordsA one-sided bond in which someone feels close to a person or character who does not really know them, like a fan with a celebrity, and now increasingly with chatbots.
A one-sided, imagined relationship in which a person develops feelings of intimacy, friendship or loyalty toward a media figure, such as a celebrity, influencer, fictional character or, increasingly, an AI persona, that does not know them or reciprocate in kind. Parasocial interaction is the illusion of conversation during viewing; the parasocial relationship is the lasting bond that results. Conversational AI strains the classic definition because it does respond, personally and at any hour, while lacking the needs, stakes and independent life of a human partner, so researchers debate whether bonds with AI companionsAI companion, n.: A chatbot designed to be a friend, partner or confidant rather than a tool: it remembers you, has a personality and keeps up an ongoing relationship. are parasocial, social or something new. Such bonds can comfort lonely people but can also foster dependence and commercial exploitation of attachment.
Users mourned the retired model version like a lost friend, a measure of how parasocial the relationship had become.
Origin
Introduced by sociologists Donald Horton and R. Richard Wohl in 'Mass Communication and Para-Social Interaction: Observations on Intimacy at a Distance' (Psychiatry, 1956), about radio and television personalities. Cambridge Dictionary named 'parasocial' its Word of the Year for 2025, citing bonds with influencers and AI chatbots.
Related
- AI companionAI companion, n.: A chatbot designed to be a friend, partner or confidant rather than a tool: it remembers you, has a personality and keeps up an ongoing relationship.
- anthropomorphismanthropomorphism, n.: Treating something that isn't human — a pet, a car, a chatbot — as if it had human thoughts, feelings or intentions. AI that talks fluently makes this temptation unusually strong.
- ELIZA effectELIZA effect, n.: Our tendency to believe that a computer understands us, cares or thinks just because it produces humanlike words, even when it is only following simple rules.
- AI psychosisAI psychosis, n.: An informal name for cases in which long conversations with a chatbot seem to trigger or deepen delusions, such as believing the AI is conscious, divine or revealing hidden truths.
- engagement optimizationengagement optimization, n.: Designing apps and AI to keep people clicking, watching or chatting for as long as possible because that earns money, even when it is not what is good for them.
Sources
- Horton, D. & Wohl, R. R. (1956). Mass Communication and Para-Social Interaction: Observations on Intimacy at a Distance. Psychiatry 19(3), 215–229.
- University of Cambridge (2025). Cambridge Dictionary reveals Word of the Year 2025. News release, 18 November 2025. cam.ac.uk/news/cambridge-dictionary-reveals-word-of-the-year-2025
Mentioned in
anthropomorphismanthropomorphism, n.: Treating something that isn't human — a pet, a car, a chatbot — as if it had human thoughts, feelings or intentions. AI that talks fluently makes this temptation unusually strong., AI companionAI companion, n.: A chatbot designed to be a friend, partner or confidant rather than a tool: it remembers you, has a personality and keeps up an ongoing relationship., AI psychosisAI psychosis, n.: An informal name for cases in which long conversations with a chatbot seem to trigger or deepen delusions, such as believing the AI is conscious, divine or revealing hidden truths., AI therapyAI therapy, n.: Using chatbots for emotional support or as a stand-in for a counselor or therapist, either through apps built for mental health or by confiding in general-purpose assistants., Character.AICharacter.AI, prop. n.: A popular app where people chat with AI characters — invented personas, fictional figures or imitations of real people — that other users have created., Her (film)Her (film), prop. n.: A 2013 film by Spike Jonze in which a lonely man falls in love with an AI voice assistant named Samantha; it became the reference point for voice AI and for human–AI relationships.