Influencer Parisa Bong has stopped posting her live location on social media. A man onced followed her to her car; another followed her and a friend to the washroom of a restaurant. There were also instances where she walked out of a gym session only to be greeted by a legion of her social media followers.
Parisa, who posts under the moniker @parisabong, now draws boundaries by not replying to anyone she doesn't know via DMs. "If someone asks where I bought something, then I post my response on Instagram Stories," says Parisa. This keeps all communication public.
While her fans' intentions might be harmless, they exemplify a growing number of fans who don't know where to draw the line and separate the influencer's public persona and their private lives.
These parasocial relationships can have damaging consequences on influencers and celebrities, especially for more extreme cases.
Coined by anthropologist Donald Horton and sociologist R. Richard Wohl in 1956, parasocial relationships are one-sided relationships where fans develop a connection with a celebrity or influencer. This is not to be confused with fangirling (and fanboying) the difference is that those in a parasocial relationship believe they have a personal connection with the celebrity (for instance, having the illusion of friendship).
Parasocial relationships can be healthy for fans seeking comfort and inspiration, but it can also go to an extreme when some fans develop a sense of entitlement and obsession. An unhealthy cycle can emerge as fans expect these public figures to always be perfect and accessible to them.
The pressure to keep up with such unrealistic expectations can lead to mental health struggles for the public figures. In K-pop fandoms, there's even a term for overzealous fans: sasaengs.
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