Imagine this situation. A major strike ensues in the media,
people can’t agree on budgets and salaries. Before you know it your favorite
shows are no longer on the air. We no longer have a clue on what will happen
with McDreamy on Grey’s Anatomy, who
will win The Voice, or how shows
like Parks and Recreation, 30
Rock, or The Office will end. Now, I know that these are just television
shows and we shouldn’t really care, but think about it. As a society we are on
the edge of our seats when our favorite TV shows have a season finale. We are
glued to the television every time it is elimination night on Dancing With the
Stars. Let’s face it, there is no way that we could just go on with lives if
our favorite shows weren’t on anymore without either talking about them or
being upset about it. Why is this? Why do we create these relationships with
characters on TV?
One possible answer that many scholars have studied is called
para-social interaction. You’re probably thinking…para-social HUH? Well this
phenomenon is called para-social interaction, and according to Michael Schudson
is means that we interact (one-sidedly) with the characters we see on TV as if
we know them and they are our friends. Schudson studies reviews of New York
City where the local paper was not produced after a strike had torn apart a
town in 1945. While reviewing this study originally done by Bernard Berelson,
Schudson found that many people views newspaper columnists as part of their
lives with one person stating, “You get used to certain people, they become
part of your family” (p.164). We create a connection with our people in the
media, Schudson calls it a ritual, and when they are taken away we are
“emotionally not prepared for the day” (p.165). So what does this mean for us?
To me I think it takes cultivation theory (the theory that when we see things
on TV we believe it as part of our reality) and makes it relevant and important
to our daily lives. If we have a personal relationships with media figures than
how does that not affect the reality we create for ourselves? 
So know you might be thinking, how does a para-social
interaction, or relationships with a media figure happen? How do these
relationships develop? Two researchers, Rebecca Rubin and Michael McHugh go
through the development of para-social interaction relationships. Rubin and
McHugh state that viewers create closeness with the medium of TV and its
characters. The relationships that develop out of this bond resemble an
interpersonal relationship, or one we would have with a friend or acquaintance.
Interpersonal relationships reduce the uncertainty we have about our friend
leading to more growth within the relationship. Rubin and McHugh studied the
similarities between para-social interaction and interpersonal relationships
and this is what they found. That when we watch television we have an
attraction to the media figure and a para-social interaction with them, this
creates relationship importance. This is similar to the development of interpersonal
relationships (shown below) where the amount of communication we have with
someone constitutes liking and intimacy with that person, creating relationship
importance.
Believe it or not, when we watch TV, we create relationships
with the people we see on screen. Television has more effects than we realize
on our relationships, and by being aware of things like cultivation theory, and
para-social interaction we can evaluate what we watch and be more aware of what
effects TV has on us.
References:
Rubin, R. B., & McHugh, M. P. (1987). Development of
parasocial interaction relationships. Journal Of Broadcasting & Electronic
Media, 31, 279-292.
Schudson, M. (2011). The Sociology of News. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
