(MENAFN- Live Mint) 'Parasocial' has been named as Cambridge Dictionary's 2025 Word of the Year. The word is defined as 'involving or relating to a connection that someone feels between themselves and a famous person they do not know'.

The Cambridge Dictionary said that the choice reflects the surge in one-sided emotional relationships people formed with celebrities, influencers, and increasingly AI chatbots.

The term gained renewed relevance through fan culture, as seen when Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce announced their engagement; many fans felt a deep connection. This was also evident in viral TV finales and the emergence of AI bots like ChatGPT, which became objects of attachment.

New entrants to the Cambridge Dictionary also included 'skibidi', 'delulu', and 'tradwife'.

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Psychologists have described the fans' connection to stars like Taylor Swift as“parasocial” bonds.

“The emergence of parasocial relationships with AI bots saw people treat ChatGPT as a confidant, friend or even romantic partner. These led to emotionally meaningful – and in some cases troubling – connections for users, and concerns about the consequences,” Cambridge Dictionary said in a press statement.

Colin McIntosh of the Cambridge Dictionary said,“Parasocial captures the 2025 zeitgeist. It's a great example of how language changes.”

“Millions of people are engaged in parasocial relationships; many more are simply intrigued by their rise,” he added.

“The language around parasocial phenomena is evolving fast, as technology, society and culture shift and mutate: from celebrities to chatbots, parasocial trends are fascinating for those who are interested in the development of language,” McIntosh said, referring to the“chronically online” developed unreciprocated parasocial relationships with YouTubers and influencers in 2025.

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Simone Schnall, Professor of Experimental Social Psychology at the University of Cambridge, said.“Parasocial is an inspired choice for Word of the Year. The rise of parasocial relationships has redefined fandom, celebrity and, with AI, how ordinary people interact online.”

“We've entered an age where many people form unhealthy and intense parasocial relationships with influencers. This leads to a sense that people 'know' those they form parasocial bonds with, can trust them and even to extreme forms of loyalty. Yet it's completely one sided,” Schnall added.

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The term dates back to 1956, when University of Chicago sociologists Donald Horton and Richard Wohl observed television viewers engaged in“para-social” relationships with on-screen personalities, resembling those they formed with“real” family and friends.

They noted how the rapidly expanding medium of television brought the faces of actors directly into viewers' homes, making them fixtures in people's lives.

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