Once relegated to a subfield of academic communication research, discussions of parasocial relationships (PSRs) are increasingly diffusing through popular media for consumption and pondering by much larger audiences. In the same technological moment, virtual reality (VR) represents a transformative technology that immerses users in computer-generated environments, offering multisensory experiences through video, audio, and haptic feedback. This essay explores some of the avenues in which traditional parasocial research might intersect and be applied to immersive VR experiences. PSRs have great potential to advance our understanding of the effects of VR on ourselves and our relationships with others, both real and mediated.
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Terri Madison (2024) studied this question.
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