PARASOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS, SOCIAL MEDIA, AND THE CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

Technological and social media advancements allow people to interact with others more than ever before. However, increasing rates of loneliness and concern for adolescent well-being in the social media age raise important questions. Parasocial relationships allow individuals to practice social interaction, alleviate loneliness, and meet needs for belonging without the risk for rejection. Virtual spaces can provide community and visibility, especially for people with marginalized identities. However, virtual PSRs may deprive users of valuable social feedback while subjecting users to privacy concerns and manipulative marketing, further isolating them from in-person connections. In turn, a reliance on virtual relationships may become a clinical problem and exacerbate mental health symptoms. Clinicians should discuss with clients how they engage with social media and media personas and assess the quality of social and virtual relationships. Client identification with book characters and popular media personas can illuminate client needs and desires. Bibliotherapy can be an effective adjunctive psychotherapy tool through parallel discussion, psychological distance, and leverage client identification with characters as a catalyst for change. Individuals can reap the benefits of virtual connection and parasocial relationships with favored media figures while minimizing risk if they can remain cognizant of the one-sided nature of the relationships and maintain in-person connections simultaneously.