Every year, the Cambridge Dictionary selects a Word of the Year, a term that captures how people are thinking, behaving, or interacting with the world around them. For 2025, the chosen word is parasocial, a term that may sound unfamiliar at first but describes an experience most people have unknowingly lived through.
What does parasocial really mean?
A parasocial relationship refers to the emotional connection someone feels towards a public figure, such as a celebrity, influencer, sportsperson, or even a fictional character. It develops even though there is no real two-way interaction between them. Cambridge defines it as “involving or relating to a connection that someone feels between themselves and a famous person they do not know.” These relationships are entirely one-sided, yet they can feel incredibly real, intense, and emotionally significant.
Interestingly, the term parasocial is not new. It dates back to 1956, when two University of Chicago sociologists observed how early television audiences began forming emotional bonds with TV personalities. Viewers saw newsreaders, talk-show hosts, and recurring characters as familiar faces. They felt almost like extended family members who visited their homes through television screens each evening. What began as an academic observation has evolved into a defining reality of the digital age.
With the rise of social media, parasocial relationships have multiplied dramatically. Today, people follow celebrities, binge-watch their interviews, track their daily routines on Instagram, and even feel affected by their successes or failures. Fans often feel they know their favourite personalities, even though the celebrity has no awareness of their existence. This is why the connection is termed para—meaning one-sided.
Alongside parasocial, Cambridge also added several new internet-inspired entries this year, including skibidi, delulu, and tradwife. These are all words that reflect the fast-evolving and quirky nature of online culture.
How to use it in a sentence?
- “My attachment to that actor was completely parasocial. I felt like I knew him, but he did not know I existed.”
- “Teenagers today often form parasocial bonds with influencers they watch daily.”
- “Her parasocial relationship with the singer helped her feel less lonely during difficult times.”
