Cambridge Dictionary Names 'Parasocial' the 2025 Word of the Year
The term 'parasocial' has been officially declared the Cambridge Dictionary Word of the Year for 2025. This follows a significant surge in online searches for the word, propelled into the mainstream by two major pop culture moments.
According to Cambridge University Press and Assessment (CUP), the word's popularity skyrocketed due to events involving musicians Lily Allen and Taylor Swift.
The Celebrity Moments That Defined a Trend
The first spike occurred with the release of Lily Allen's 'revenge breakup album', West End Girl. The album's deeply personal storytelling, which reflects on her divorce and new relationship with actor David Harbour, fuelled intense public curiosity. Listeners felt a powerful connection to her life, leading many to use the term 'parasocial' to describe this one-sided fan investment.
Subsequently, the announcement of the engagement between Taylor Swift and American footballer Travis Kelce caused the word to explode in usage once more. Their very public relationship has been dissected in minute detail online. Fans, feeling they 'know' the couple through Swift's intimate songwriting and Kelce's open affection, formed strong personal attachments to their story, despite having no real-life connection to them.
What Does 'Parasocial' Actually Mean?
The concept is not new. The word dates back to 1956, coined by University of Chicago sociologists Donald Horton and Richard Wohl. They identified 'para-social' relationships forming between television viewers and on-screen personalities, where people developed feelings of a real connection with figures they had never met.
A parasocial interaction is a one-sided sense of intimacy and familiarity with a media figure, celebrity, or online personality. This happens through consuming their content, where the creator fosters an illusion of a reciprocal relationship.
Over time, these interactions can evolve into a full parasocial relationship. This is a completely one-sided bond with someone the individual does not know personally. CUP also highlighted the modern emergence of such relationships with AI bots, where people confide in chatbots like ChatGPT as if they were friends or romantic partners.
The Broader Impact of Parasocial Bonds
While often harmless, these relationships can sometimes escalate. CUP pointed to the viral, fan-made seven-part series about Hailey Bieber, built on speculation and online narratives, as an example of how far parasocial investment can go.
At its core, the rise of 'parasocial' reflects how blurred the lines have become between our online and offline lives. As we consume the intimate details of celebrities, influencers, and even AI personalities, these one-sided bonds are becoming a more common and powerful force in modern culture.
