By: Majo Perez Molina

What is Fandom?

The America Library Association defines the term fandom as “a community of people who are passionate about something, whether it’s a film, a band, a television show, a book, or a sports team.”

The term was first used in 1903 by L. Frank Baum, the author of the OZ series (The Wonderful Wizard of OZ). He combined the words “fan” and “kingdom” in order to describe a group of people that were devoted the the Great and Powerful OZ.

Are Fandoms a new concept?

No, eventhough the actual term has only existed for more than 100 years, the concept has been around for long before that. Some examples of fandoms before the term was invented include, but are not limited to: Sherlockian Fandom (Sherlock Holmes book series 1890’s) and Janeites (books by Jane Austen 1870’s).

What are Parasocial Relationships?

PsychologyToday defines Parasocial Relationships as a”one sided relationship in which a person developse and strong connection with someone they do not know, most often a celebrity or media personality”

The term “Parasocial” was first used in 1956 in an article called “Mass Communications and Para-Social Interaction” by sociologist Donald Horton and Richard Wohl. In the article, They talk about the psychological relationship a performer has with the audience.

Are Parasocial Relationships a New Concept?

No, eventhough the actual term has only existed less than 100 years, the concept has been around for long before that.

The reason why Parasocial Relationships feels like a new concept is because of social media and the internet. Before the internet, parasocial relationships were less visible. Audiences had to rely on one way form of medium (such as radio, television, magazines, ect..) to watch the performer.

The rise of the internet and social media changed the way the world thought about Parasocial Relationships. Instead of the parasocial relationships being purely one sided, they have become more interactive and give the illusion of a mutual connection.

Types of Parasocial Relationships

In 2002, psychologist Lin Macchekin co-develope the celebrity attitude scale to measure the extend on how much someone is enamered with their favorite star. suggest 3 levels of celeb workship/parasocialness. The three levels are:

Entertainment Social: fans who respect their favorite celebrities and share that interest with other people

Intense Personal: people start to internalize the beliefs of their favorite celebrity, and considers them their soulmate

Borderline Pathological: fans that will do anything (including illegal activities) for their favorite celebrity

What Fandoms have Parasocial Relationships?

in 2026, a questionnaire was sent out to 40 participants asking them what fandom(s) have a strong sense of Parasocial Relationships. These participants belong to Gen Z (being 18-23 years old) and go to different universities/colleges all around Florida (FSU, UF, USF, UCF, FIU, UM, MDC, Santa Fe).

The questionnaire reveal that when Gen Z thinks of fandoms that have Parasocial relationships, the top five answers were (in order): Anime, K-pop, Taylor Swift, V-Tuber, and Streamers.