If you like to use your lunch break to catch up on a bit of YouTube, you’d be far from the only one. Some people, however, invest far more time and energy in the online personalities they watch – despite the fact the other party has no idea they exist. Such a one-sided relationship might sound unhealthy, but according to a new study, could actually leave people feeling more emotionally fulfilled than chatting to their co-workers.
These one-sided relationships are known as “parasocial”, where one person feels connected to another who can’t return the same sentiment. In many cases, they’re probably unlikely to ever meet in real life.
A team of researchers from the University of Essex carried out three studies with over 1,000 people, aged 16 and above, in each case to assess whether there was any difference in how people viewed their relationships, both two-sided and parasocial, in terms of fulfilling their emotional needs.
The results of the first two studies revealed that people with strong parasocial relationships – including with YouTubers and other online creators – thought those could be more emotionally fulfilling than weak, two-sided relationships, like those with a co-worker or neighbor.
In the third study, the team sought to test if those people would actually be willing to engage in the parasocial relationship when in need of emotional support – in this case, social rejection.
This was mimicked by asking participants to write about an experience with someone they had a strong relationship with where they either felt hurt or supported by them. They were then asked to nominate a YouTuber who they felt they knew the most, and rate how responsive they thought the person would be in that moment of need.
In this moment, “some people became even more confident that their parasocial ties would be able to respond to their needs,” explained study author Dr Veronica Lamarche in a statement.
The findings also weren’t exclusive to those whom we might stereotypically think of as spending the most time online, either. “This isn’t a last resort for very young or lonely among us – in our studies, people of all ages reported feeling like they had a strong connection to at least one fictional character, celebrity or online personality that they’ve never met,” said Lamarche.
That being said, parasocial relationships weren’t considered the most supportive overall. “Strong two-sided relationships [such as with romantic partners or a close friend] were consistently seen as the closest, most responsive, and most effective relationship type for fulfilling emotional needs,” reads the study.
The team, however, suggests that the findings demonstrate that parasocial relationships still have a role to play, as Lamarche explained:
“Parasocial relationships are an important part of our psychological toolbox when it comes to feeling like we have people out there who are able to validate and support us in times of need, even if we can never actually meet with them in reality.”
The study is published in Scientific Reports.
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