Reality Check

From reading ‘explosive’ articles in tabloids to live streaming ‘A day in my life’ videos, there has always been curiosity to get a glimpse into the lives of ‘influential’ people. The behind-the-scenes, the gossip, the repetitive drudgery, the triumphs and failures - giving us a peek into glamorous, often aspirational lives. One of the most prominent modes of accessing (even the mundane) activities of others is via Reality TV and influencer YouTube videos. Despite the last season of Keeping Up with the Kardashians rolling out; it isn’t the end for such content, as it lives on in the form of late night show interviews, autobiographies, tell-all documentaries like Dancing with the Devil, seasonal shows like Big Boss and The Bachelor Nation and of course, influencer uploads.

One could trace this obsession back to the royal family of England, with the over-40-year-old invisible contract between the tabloids and the institution. Even today, historians and media teams are exclusively dedicated to the monarchy, keeping the public deeply interested in them. According to Dr. Farley, psychologist, professor and former president of the American Psychological Association, the interest is due to the allure of a family born into wealth, fame, style and scrutiny. Dr. Donna Rockwell argues that the monarchy represents stability through their calm sense of communication, observed via the tone of their carefully curated speeches and addresses. Their ‘ideal family’ persona and portrayal of love between generations, reinforces a physiological sense of emotional security. This focus on “family relationships” is also a recurring theme in The Kardashian’s content and business ventures.

While the tabloids focus on celebrities and the royals, reality TV often portrays the awkward realities of the aam aadmi (common man), creating content that is more liked and relatable. According to media psychiatrist Dr. Carole Lieberman, our penchant for stories and a vicarious way to experience it is what draws us to reality TV. This holds true for shows like The Voice/Indian Idol where we see the backstories of the contestants or Too Hot To Handle where a situation of ‘what-I-would-do-in-her-place’ could arise easily. The members of the royal family also help shed light on what living a fairy tale is like in the modern day, whether one is born into it or has the Cinderella-esque commoner-to-princess storyline, as in the case of Princess Diana or Megan Markle. Clinical psychologist Dr. Jana Scrivani theorized that watching reality TV often compensates for a lack of human connection. Thus, speaking directly to the camera works well in such shows. This practice is also increasingly seen in Vlogs - where influencers try to form an intimate relationship with their audience.

The word ‘reality’ in reality TV could lead to the perception that it’s ‘real’ and so a real connection with contestants could be achieved. However, Dr. Farrell’s research suggests otherwise. She says that we watch reality TV because we know it isn’t real. She compares watching reality tv to playing ‘Ghar-Ghar’ (playing pretend) as children. The only difference is that we now watch someone else do the same. In most reality shows, a basic requirement of the archetypes of a villain, a joker and a mother are usually met. This can be seen on the shows as well as in the royal family where the archetypes of a mother, the innocent maiden, wise elders, the child are observed. The person whose story, communication and archetype we relate to makes us want to interact with them further.

All of the above explanations hold merit depending on the perspective you view it from. However, there is a reason that helps maintain this connection no matter who the person behind the screen is. This ‘connection’ is referred to as parasocial interaction, which develops into relationships with continued interaction. Parasocial relationships are the unidirectional relationships that people have with celebrities, important public figures or even fictional characters. It is a relationship because information about their lives are available to form our own attitudes towards them by investing time and energy. It’s unidirectional because the person in question may not know of the audience/fan’s individual existence, let alone invest any time or energy in getting to know more about them with the same intensity. As these relationships feel no different than ‘real life’ relationships, lines often get blurry, people get emotionally invested and it leads to the propagation of ‘stan’ culture.

There are various stages through which this relationship progresses within celebrity worship. Most people are relegated to the first level wherein they are entertained by the lives of the people they gain access to and use this content for light gossip. This refers to the tabloid news we bring up when conversations occasionally reach an awkward plateau.

The next level deals with people forming bonds with celebrities and relating to them at a more personal level. Remember when you were team Edward or wanted a boyfriend like Shah Rukh Khan? You were possibly engaging in this level of parasocial interaction. This stage is also what ‘Celebrity Endorsements’ are based on - a hope that consumers will purchase products in order to feel closer to these celebrities. Today, Influencer marketing is also gaining relevance due to the very same reason.

The third stage is ‘borderline pathological’ - which is dangerous to not only the fan but also to the object of obsession. It’s when the ‘non-reciprocal’ part of the relationship is lost and stalking and extreme worship is normalised (think Max from The Amazing Spiderman 2). According to the child psychiatrist Dr. J. Bowlby’s attachment theory, if we didn’t bond enough with our primary caregivers as children, it could lead us to lean on parasocial relationships to fill that void. Dr. Ruth Sims seconds this view with respect to stan culture, where the obsession stems from having to latch on to something that helps in filling something missing in your life. Joe from You is a great reference for how this behaviour is not limited only to the ‘famous’. His narration on making up what his girlfriends were “saying” to him exhibits this third stage of parasocial behaviour. This is when relationships with influencers (or anyone who isn’t exactly a celebrity) enters the realm of parasocial interaction.

With the advent of social media influencers, research today is not only limited to celebrity culture but also the impact of digital influencers. A considerable amount of these studies explore why parasocial behaviour is instrumental in the influencer marketing context. An important metric here is ‘audience stickiness’. Audience stickiness is understood by the loyalty which motivates people to stay on a particular page longer than others. This loyalty is unaffected by marketing strategies or situational factors that aim to lead people to other pages (via suggestions, clickbait, promotions etc.). Parasocial interactions are positively related to an audience member's word of mouth intentions, perceptions of luxury brands featured and self brand connections. Buying an endorsed product and using it becomes a means to deepen their connection with the influencer. Consequently these interactions become a way to affirm their loyalty to them.

Moreover, stronger parasocial relationships are also associated with high levels of wishful identification. This makes a follower more perceptible to a change in attitudes, values and beliefs than others. People make parasocial relationships a two-way street when they see sincerity in the influencer and reward that sincerity with loyalty (stickiness). This ‘reward’ comes with simple reactions like hitting the like button and subscribing. The famous like, share and subscribe are actually ways in which an influencer uses social media tools to judge their parasocial relationships built through audience participation. They serve as a marker of the number of parasocial relationships built. However, as parasocial relationships (like any relationship) do not always have to mean positivity or obsession, note that even the negative comments constitute building a parasocial relationship with the influencer.

So, how could one establish this important connection? As mentioned before, like in reality tv, the greeting in the intro, the ‘eye contact’ while talking to the camera, and the interaction displayed for others, all contribute to parasocial relationship building. This further builds trust towards the brands that they endorse. The perceived relatability and credibility not only strengthens the influencer’s value in the marketing process, but also makes them the “imaginary friend/older sibling”. Dr. Jana Scrivani and Dr. Farrell also cited this as one of the reasons for successful reality TV. However, in the age of live streaming, this very relatability and approachability blurs the lines of what a parasocial interaction entails. Viewers can see the reaction of their comments in real time when influencers go live and the interaction becomes two-way. Greater the number of people involved in the live stream, the more parasocial the entire interaction/ relationship becomes. Even the ‘lurkers’ or spectators to such live streams or those who do not comment but read comments are said to be a part of a parasocial relationship. Reading comments constitutes a huge role in verifying what people feel about the person they have formed a parasocial connection with.

While we can now better understand why the lives of those who fascinate us make us want to keep wanting more, we need to ask ourselves to what extent we’d feed this interest. Someone like Kim Kardashian could give us access to her entire personal life for years, and people would still want to know more. While ‘consumer is king’ and ‘sab janta ke haath mein hai’ (everything depends on the public) trends, we need to stop and ask ourselves how responsibly we consume content and act on it. We have the opportunity to either be inspired from the lives of others or be entitled and demand more - and it’s up to us to remain obstinate or choose to be happy in the fan-zone and to please stan’down.