Everyone has at least heard of a fandom, even if they aren’t a part of one. There is a fandom for almost everything today; Marvel, Harry Potter, Taylor Swift, and Kanye West are just some of the few unlimited fandoms that fans can create. Being part of a fandom used to exclusively mean that you are just a fan of someone, but thanks to the internet and easy communication between passionate fans, it can now mean that you are a super fan, or “stan”, and that you could possibly have a parasocial relationship with a celebrity.
A parasocial relationship is a one-sided relationship someone has with someone they don’t know personally. Having a parasocial relationship with a celebrity is already slightly concerning, but if you mix fandoms and imaginary relationships with politics, it can become downright dangerous. Having a parasocial relationship with a politician can be threatening to our political system and should be avoided at all costs.
As citizens of the United States, it’s our job to be skeptical of our political leaders in order to protect our safety. Questioning their policies and beliefs is important because it gives us a better understanding of their goals for when they are in office and if we should be looking to them for help with problems our communities are facing. If someone were to have a parasocial relationship with a politician, they are more likely to look at the person’s character rather than their policies and could possibly result in electing someone with conflicting or even possibly dangerous values.
We don’t have to pick a candidate and support their every move until the grave. Just because you agree with one policy, that doesn’t mean you’ll agree with the rest of them. Parasocial relationships with politicians lead to people blindly agreeing or supporting a cause without knowing what they are advocating for just because their chosen candidate is supporting it.
Evidence of political parasocial relationships have been popping up online recently because of the upcoming presidential election. People with a social media presence go around presidential rallies and ask voters questions about why they are voting for the candidate they are supporting. By doing this, they have caught people defending candidates for completely illogical reasons because they have decided to give them their unwavering support.
One creator on TikTok named Dean calls out specific Donald Trump supporters. In one of his viral videos, he told a Trump support that President Joe Biden said he would date a ten year old in ten years, and the Trump supporter responded saying “That would be pedophilia.” When Dean revealed it was actually Trump who said that, the voter got very upset and started yelling at him. He said that Dean was spreading false information and that he was a communist.
The Trump supporter clearly had his mind set on defending Trump at all costs, but what he failed to understand is that it isn’t his job to support Trump’s every claim. It’s obvious he has a parasocial relationship with Trump because he is defending the comment only because Trump said it. If Biden had really said that, the voter would have believed him to be a pedophilia.
One could argue that it’s important to show support for a candidate and keep up with their life because it keeps you more involved politically. While showing support for the candidate you like the most is perfectly reasonable, keeping up with both candidate’s actions and policies is extremely important. Only observing your chosen candidate is risky. Looking at all view points from the available candidates gives you a better perspective of the controversy, and once you make your own decision on policy, you can align yourself with the policy of one of the candidates. If you only keep up with one politician, you are only going to be fed one perspective for each issue. Showing support for a politician is perfectly fine if you are aware of the slippery slope down to blindly supporting them.
Parasocial relationships are a danger to our political system. Always be aware that politicians are trying to get your vote and that they do not know you personally, even if they are acting like they do. It is our job to be critical of politicians and their actions in order to protect the rights and safety of the American public. Even if you are in full support of a specific candidate, don’t blindly support their every move and pay full attention to all candidates’ political actions. If you do so, you will be protecting yourself and your community from falling into the trap of parasocial relationships. You do not know that politician, and they certainly do not know you.
