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There has been a surge in social media use and the ability to follow every aspect of your favourite celebrity’s waking moments. Psychologists are interested in exploring these types of relationships, especially with the recent uprising in social media access and the explosion of celebrity worship. Is our obsession with celebrities healthy? Or is there something more nefarious going on…
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Jetzt kostenlos anmeldenThere has been a surge in social media use and the ability to follow every aspect of your favourite celebrity’s waking moments. Psychologists are interested in exploring these types of relationships, especially with the recent uprising in social media access and the explosion of celebrity worship. Is our obsession with celebrities healthy? Or is there something more nefarious going on in our brains? The absorption addiction model explores parasocial social relationships.
Fig. 1: Parasocial relationships are formed for a variety of reasons.
The absorption addiction model was first proposed by McCutcheon et al. (2002), who stated that those with a weak sense of self-identity form parasocial relationships with celebrities to escape reality. These parasocial relationships cover up the deficits in their real lives. This could be due to a multitude of reasons:
You may have come across the absorption addiction model in real life. Some rely on their favourite stars for relief when reality is no longer satisfying or hard to cope with.
They choose to follow a celebrity to gain the sense of fulfilment they feel they are lacking. Considering this model involves parasocial relationships, here’s a quick refresher on the definition of what they are:
Parasocial relationships are one-sided relationships between a person and a prominent, well-known individual, usually a celebrity, who is unaware of the other’s existence.
The absorption addiction model of parasocial relationships has two stages, absorption and addiction, and is closely linked to the three levels of parasocial relationships. Interestingly enough, the stages can be merged with the three levels as to when they usually begin to occur.
Remember, according to the model and McCutcheon et al. (2002), parasocial relationships form because people feel unfulfilled within their lives and seek these relationships to find fulfilment.
In the model of parasocial relationships, absorption is the process where a person becomes absorbed in the following of a celebrity. Here begins escapism for the person. They achieve a sense of fulfilment they lack in their own lives, which motivates a more intense attachment. Absorption can come in many forms.
For instance, people can search forums to find facts about their favourite celebrity and follow the celebrity on every form of social media. They can listen, purchase, and engage in the celebrity's work to an extreme extent, and some dedicate their entire lives to being ‘loyal’ to their obsession.
Many celebrities are often hounded by media sources such as the paparazzi, who provide detailed (and often inaccurate) information about the personal life of a prominent figure. This can fuel absorption.
Addiction in parasocial relationships is when this sense of fulfilment becomes somewhat of a problem for the person. They become addicted to the feeling of fulfilment and satisfaction that absorption in the celebrity’s life has given them, and in turn, they become more obsessed with the celebrity.
They need to feel even closer to them. The person's behaviour escalates, becoming more extreme. Where addiction is concerned, extreme cases can eventually lead to risky behaviours to feed their obsession further.
An addicted person may engage in activities such as stalking to achieve a new sense of closeness with the celebrity.
Parasocial relationships have three levels identified through the Celebrity Attitude Scale (CAS) by McCutcheon et al. (2002).
The absorption addiction model has close ties to the different levels of parasocial relationships described above (entertainment-social, intense-personal, and borderline-pathological).
We need to evaluate the absorption addiction model to understand its strengths and limitations.
First, let's examine the strengths of the absorption addiction model. A few prominent studies explored the concept and its merits.
Now, let's explore the limitations of the absorption addiction model.
There are three levels of parasocial relationships: entertainment-social, intense-personal, and borderline-pathological (McCutcheon et al., 2002).
The absorption addiction model was proposed by McCutcheon et al. (2002) and states that those who have a weak sense of self-identity form parasocial relationships with celebrities to escape the reality of their daily lives. This is due to dissatisfaction with their life, and a failure to form intimate relationships with their peers.
It involves absorption in the prominent figure’s life (through engaging in their work)), and addiction from the fulfilment that descends into obsessive behaviours.
According to the absorption addiction model, it is because they have a weak sense of self-identity (their own life or reality feels deficient) and seek fulfilment in their parasocial relationship with celebrities.
You form parasocial relationships by having a one-sided relationship with a prominent figure who is unaware of your existence. Usually, parasocial relationships involve celebrities and fans.
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