A term or concept · 1956 · Naming
Parasocial interaction
The name itself. Coined to describe the way viewers responded to a television character they followed consistently - a bond with somebody who did not know they existed. Parasocial: one-sided, parallel to the para- in paranormal.
The coinage is defensive and that is the story. It was invented in the McCarthy era to describe a television habit that was considered slightly shameful - viewers writing in about soap characters as though they could be defamed. The word bakes in an apology for the feeling. The feeling did not need one.
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