// Glossary
Parasocial Relationship
6 topics
-
Has Social Media Increased or Decreased Connections?
A one-sided relationship (e.g., influencer and follower) where intimacy is felt despite no actual mutual interaction. Increasing trend on SNS.
-
Attachment to a Being One Can Only Encounter Through a Screen
A one-sided relationship in which a viewer feels intimacy toward a media persona, but the persona does not know or respond to it. Proposed by Donald Horton and others in the 1950s, it has gained even greater intensity in the VTuber era.
-
The Meaning of the Phrase 'There Is No One Inside'
A one-sided feeling of intimacy. In the case of VTubers, viewers direct emotions toward the character, but the character does not directly respond to individual viewers.
-
Does Listening to ASMR Resolve or Deepen Loneliness?
One-sided pseudo-intimacy with media figures or content creators. The listener gains a sense of being 'known,' yet reciprocity is absent.
-
How Do We Grasp the Sense of Distance to the Person Within the Screen?
A psychological phenomenon in one-directional media relationships (viewer → streamer) where the viewer feels as if they are in a bidirectional intimate relationship. The foundation of VTuber fan psychology and the source of the 'pseudo-intimacy' brought by the screen.
-
Do You Love the Person Behind the Avatar?
A one-sided relationship where a viewer develops a sense of intimacy or attachment to a media personality, not reciprocal but psychologically similar to real relationships.