Many people have crushes, admire a certain character, music artist, celebrity or real life person, but those people being “crushed” on don’t always know that is happening. “…parasocial relationships (PSRs) are more or less stable, long-term construals media users hold and can access both during and between exposure to messages featuring a media character…”(Schmid 254). These relationships are common with fictional characters, and famous artists and actors. There is a debate between what it means to admire someone versus obsessing over them, many times the line between two can be blurred. It is important to know when a parasocial relationship becomes unhealthy.
When people hear the name Harry Potter you almost always get a reaction, they either love the book series and the character himself, or they hate him. For those who love him, that could be taken quite literally sometimes. The way Rowling wrote the series allowed for readers to grow with Harry and his friends as the books continued and that in itself establishes a strong relationship, whether Harry knows it or not. This connection formed between these characters and the reader have resonated with people long after they have read the books and watched the movies. I would say that I have a strong relationship with Harry Potter and I admire him as a character and I believe he, and the series as a whole influenced me heavily and shaped my own reality. While I feel strongly about this, I admire him as a character and I admire the moral fiber of the books and what they teach. I do not find myself trying to become this character or live as if I were stuck inside the book. As the article states, “…Besides the attractiveness of a character, the development of a parasocial relationship may depend on the perceived commonalities between viewers or readers and a media protagonist… (Schmid 255). This is a good way to describe how I find myself connected to Harry Potter. I find common things in common with the character and the story and that is how I became attached to the character and the story. There are some who may identify a great deal with this story and it may cause a stronger connection, or obsession to form. Some people like the idea of not having any limits within a relationship like this where they are entirely in control of the outcome and the benefits because it is in their own head.
The benefit to fictional PSRs is that there are multiple people who feel the same way and identify with a character and a community forms based around common interest, this is homophily. The article defines homophily as, “homophily…implies a sense of closeness to and familiarity with the character, a relationship characteristic that facilitates uncertainty reduction and positive experiences of shared group membership between viewers/readers and character. This is where things like fandoms are bred from. People find common ground within a fictional world or with a specific character and people discuss this and they form different scenarios that fit their reality or may be more of how they see it in their heads. This could be a great way to form real life connections and relationships, unless those involved in the community see the fictional story as their own reality. That could be seen as an obsessive behavior and it can be more hurtful than it seems.
Parasocial relationships and homophily that are formed between a fictional character or a celebrity/artist can be positive or they could be negative and unhealthy. Some of the benefits are that people can bond with one another over a relatable character, or they can be sucked into the fictional world they have become so fond of to the point where they believe it is reality for themselves.