Have you ever looked at a celebrity or public figure and felt like there is a connection between you and that famous person, even though you do not know them personally at all? Or maybe you found yourself invested in all the twists and turns of a celebrity’s personal life? With the surge of the chronically online, also comes the rise of a bond that redefined fandom, celebrity, and how people interact online: parasocial relationships.

Cambridge Dictionary’s Word of the Year 2025, “parasocial,” is defined as “involving or relating to a connection that someone feels between themselves and a famous person they do not know, a character in a book, film, TV series, etc., or an artificial intelligence.”

Sociologists once used the term to describe television viewers who engage in “para-social” relationships with on-screen personalities. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, in 2025, the chronically online developed unreciprocated parasocial relationships with YouTubers and influencers whom the public feels they know.

What the connection looks like

In mid-August 2025, pop superstar Taylor Swift and National Football League player Travis Kelce announced their engagement through a carousel of photos shared on social media, along with a snippet of the singer-songwriter’s “So High School” track playing in the background.

Swifties were quick to celebrate the happy news, describing the occasion as one they would remember: an English teacher and gym teacher officially set to tie the knot.

However, eagle-eyed fans quickly pointed out that the engagement photos had a striking similarity to Swift’s 2019 album, “Lover.” For the album, Swift was photographed in a garden with flowers, underneath a street lamp, between the sections of 16th Avenue and Cornelia Street.

Swift is also known to draw on her personal experiences for inspiration when writing songs. In a 2019 essay for Elle UK, Swift compared her love for songwriting with preserving memories, “like putting a picture frame around a feeling you once had.”

One way to remember the details of an event is through writing songs that the common folks can relate to.

“I think these days, people are reaching out for connection and comfort in the music they listen to. We like being confided in and hearing someone say, ‘this is what I went through,’ as proof to us that we can get through our own struggles,” Swift wrote in her essay.

Viral moments like this drove spikes in search bars of the term “parasocial” in the Cambridge Dictionary.

According to Simone Schnall, a Professor of Experimental Social Psychology at the University of Cambridge, a traditional and healthy manifestation of fandom exists. Citing the gravity of pop superstar Taylor Swift’s impact, Simone noted that fans tend to develop parasocial relationships with such stars, forming a one-sided, but personal connection.

Stating how Swift excels at what she does, Simone warned that it may also lead to obsessive interpretations of her lyrics and intense online discussions about their meanings and what they signify for both fans and Swift herself.

Podcasts and AI

Beyond superstardom, the Cambridge Dictionary said that the spontaneity, imperfection, and confessional nature of podcast hosts had replaced real friends, adding that it has catalyzed parasocial relationships.

The emergence of AI bots such as ChatGPT has also led some people to treat them as a confidant, friend, or even a romantic partner.

“These led to emotionally meaningful—and in some cases troubling—connections for users, and concerns about the consequences,” the dictionary said.

“As trust in mainstream and traditional media breaks down, people turn to individual personalities as authorities, and—when they spend many hours consuming their content—develop parasocial bonds, treating them more like close friends, family or cult leaders,” Schnall said.

“When an influencer has so many followers, people assume they are trustworthy. This leads to a sense that people “know” those they form parasocial bonds with, can trust them, and even to extreme forms of loyalty. Yet it’s completely one-sided,” she added.