The role of virtual social networks in the development of para-social relationships

Abstract

Parasocijalni odnosi su odnosi koji se upostavljaju između persona masovnih medija i virtualnih društvenih mreža s jedne strane, i pojedinih zainteresiranih pripadnika/ca publike s druge strane, pri čemu se stvara iluzija osobnog odnosa licem-u-lice. Prvi puta su ovaj fenomen definirali antropolog Donald Horton i sociolog Richard Wohl 1956. godine. Razvitkom Interneta i virtualnih društvenih mreža, parasocijalni odnosi dobivaju novu dimenziju i formiraju se između novih vrsta persona — influencera, i njihovih pratitelja. Kako su virtualne društvene mreže dostupne preko pametnih telefona koji su postali sastavni dio svakodnevice, tako je i formiranje parasocijalnih odnosa gotovo neizbježno. Sam fenomen se u kontekstu sociologije istraživao u manjoj mjeri u odnosu na druge grane društvenih znanosti poput komunikacijskih znanosti, ekonomije i psihologije. Cilj rada je davanje pregleda postojećih teorijskih i empirijskih spoznaja o fenomenu parasocijalnih odnosa u svijetu, kao i skrenuti pozornost hrvatske sociologije na temu parasocijalnih odnosa, kako bi se ukazalo na njihovu raširenost i značaj u suvremenim društvima. Rad donosi sustavni pregled dosadašnjih teorijskih radova i istraživanja koja su se bavila formiranjem parasocijalnih odnosa s medijskim figurama s naglaskom na virtualne društvene mreže, tumačenje kontekstualnih razloga koji stoje iza tog fenomena, analizu možebitnih pozitivnih odnosno negativnih strana parasocijalnih odnosa za različite društvene skupine, te razmatranje o primjeni nekih elemenata parasocijalnih odnosa u nastavnim metodama na različitim obrazovnim razinama.Parasocial relationships are relationships established between the persona of mass media and virtual social networks on the one hand, and individual interested members of the audience on the other hand, creating the illusion of a personal face-to-face relationship. This term was initially coined by anthropologist Donald Horton and sociologist Richard Wohl in 1956. In the digital era, with the emergence of virtual social networks and celebrity culture, these relationships have evolved and expanded to encompass new types of personas — influencers, and their followers. As virtual social networks are available via smartphones, which have become an integral part of everyday life, the formation of parasocial relationships is almost inevitable. The phenomenon itself has been researched in the context of sociology to a lesser extent compared to other branches of social sciences such as communication sciences, economics and psychology. The work aims to provide an overview of the existing theoretical and empirical knowledge about the phenomenon of parasocial relations in the world, as well as to draw the attention of Croatian sociology to the topic of parasocial relationships and to point out their prevalence and significance in contemporary societies. The paper provides a systematic review of previous theoretical works and research that dealt with the formation of parasocial relationships with media figures with an emphasis on virtual social networks, the interpretation of the contextual reasons behind this phenomenon, the analysis of possible positive and negative sides of parasocial relationships for different social groups, as well as consideration of the application of some elements of parasocial relationships in teaching methods at various educational levels