Parasocial relationships with audiences’ favorite celebrities: The role of audience and celebrity characteristics in a representative Flemish sample

Nathalie Claessens; Hilde Van den Bulck

doi:10.1515/commun-2014-0027

Article

Parasocial relationships with audiences’ favorite celebrities: The role of audience and celebrity characteristics in a representative Flemish sample

Nathalie Claessens and Hilde Van den Bulck

Published/Copyright: March 2, 2015

Published by

Become an author with De Gruyter Brill

Submit Manuscript Author Information Explore this Subject

From the journal Communications Volume 40 Issue 1

Abstract

This article provides insight into one form of audience involvement with celebrities: parasocial relationships (PSR). To address several shortcomings in PSR research – focus on TV, confusion between PSI (parasocial interaction) and PSR, use of student samples, neglect of socio-demographic variables – a representative online survey was conducted with 1000 Flemish adults who indicated 382 celebrities as favorites. A new scale reveals that PSR contain two important elements: emotional connections and an analogy with social relationships. Confirming previous research, most favorite celebrities are male, and cultural proximity is especially important for older respondents. In one combined model, respondents’ and celebrities’ (socio-demographic) characteristics are included as potential PSR predictors. This model nuances previous research and reveals that people who are male, older, more lowly-educated, and interested in celebrity news have stronger PSR. Further, stronger PSR are found for local and religious, political, sports, and music celebrities than for film celebrities.

Keywords: parasocial relationships; favorite celebrity; analogy to social relationships; emotional connection; cultural proximity

Published Online: 2015-3-2

Published in Print: 2015-3-1

You are currently not able to access this content.

Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/commun-2014-0027

Keywords for this article

parasocial relationships; favorite celebrity; analogy to social relationships; emotional connection; cultural proximity