From Chappell Roan calling out her fans for their “crazy behaviour,” to Tyler, the Creator casting Ayo Edebiri as a gun-wielding fan in his “Noid” music video, we’re getting the message that celebrities are sick of parasocial relationships. But can they really afford to live without them?
What are parasocial relationships?
A parasocial relationship is a one-sided relationship where one person is completely unaware that the other person exists. They’re usually perceived as the hyper-fixated, obsessive relationships that people develop with celebrities; although, we can also develop parasocial relationships towards sports teams, fictional characters, politicians, and more.
Music artists have always held a position more in the public eye than other careers, often relying on close relationships with their fans to stay relevant and maintain popularity. Although there are plenty of other ways of earning success without relying on huge fan bases, it does seem that parasocial relationships can hugely help boost your career, and modern celebrities know this better than ever.
Why would anyone want parasocial relationships?
Even before the current era of social media, parasocial relationships have helped launch musicians into historic status; from Michael Jackson who had his fans fainting just by standing on stage, to The Beatles who’s fans were so obsessive the British media created the word “Beatlemania” just to describe the frenzy.
What we’ve learnt from the parasocial relationships of the past is that they really can help consolidate your status in music history, and that’s exactly why so many music artists are feeding into their own fanbases’ levels of obsession today. Plenty of celebrities aren’t exactly discouraging their fans from building closer, more intimate relationships with them, because they know that the effects can launch them into icon status.
Amidst the likes of Tyler, the Creator and Chappell Roan arguing that their fans’ parasocial relationships have gotten out of hand, there are plenty of music artists that are encouraging them. They feed into the frenzy because, at the end of the day, it’s parasocial relationships that are helping: Travis Scott sell out stadiums to Opium-obsessed fans who will do anything to get barrier at his concerts; Taylor Swift keep getting number 1’s on the charts (even when she’s only re-releasing old music); and Ye to maintain his “God”-like status, selling out listening parties and Bully merch before the album’s even dropped.
Why are parasocial relationships potentially dangerous?
Although it would appear that they are plenty of celebrities (particularly in music) that encourage and even rely on parasocial relationships to help their careers, these types of relationships with fans are widely known for becoming toxic and invasive very easily. It shouldn’t need to be said that no amount of encouraging parasocial relationships with their fans makes it OK for a music artist to be harassed on the street or berated for not taking a picture. Whilst arguably having a close, borderline-parasocial relationship with their fans can hugely impact a music artist’s career for the better, but that comes with consequences; the kind that mean you can’t walk to the shops alone anymore.
There are other effects too: the responsibility of having a fanbase so dedicated to one person’s word can do serious damage when unchecked; it means celebrities need to be extremely careful about what they say and do. Even just considering how mindful Taylor Swift was in her endorsement of a candidate for the 2024 US Presidential Election is evidence that she’s completely conscious of how much power her fans’ parasocial relationships give her. That power can be relatively harmless when you’re selling out shows, but has far greater implications when you’re swaying elections.
Whilst we would like to think that music artists could exist without the toxicity of parasocial relationships, the reality is that they’re ingrained in our culture at this point. Obsession is a human trait, and it’s one that the industry relies and thrives on. All we can really do is hope that the musicians who feed into the frenzy of parasocial relationships are doing so with a careful consideration for how much power they have. No one needs another Ye running for President.
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