Artwork by Sharanyaa Nair
When it comes to the year that was 2025, it’s hard to find a word that sums it up. Yet, the Cambridge Dictionary did it anyway. Contending against AI-brainrot like “slop,” and “clanker,” Gen Alpha slang like “67”, and wildcards like “pseudonymization” and “memeify,” this year’s winner was “parasocial.” Translation: that one-sided “relationship” you swear you don’t have with your favorite celebrity, fictional character, or whatever AI you’ve been trauma-dumping on at 2AM. Cambridge notes the term now spans everything from wholesome “crushes” to darker corners like “delusion,” “grief,” and the final boss of manipulation: “marketing.”
Coined in 1956 to describe TV viewer attachments, the word slipped into mainstream vocabulary around 2023 and now perfectly captures the 2025 zeitgeist. Because today, parasocial chaos is everywhere. Swiftie devotion and K-pop sasaeng antics blur into extremism, fans chase journalists off the internet for offering critique, people keep marrying AI chatbots, artists like Lily Allen live-blogs heartbreak, and AI therapists disconcertingly listen in on secrets you wouldn’t tell your closest friends.
In the loneliness economy, where creators, celebrities, streamers, and even sexualized bots capitalize on intimacy, that false sense of closeness becomes currency. Here are just a few reasons why parasocial ended up defining our collective chaos this year, and let’s just say it’s not pretty.
iShowSpeed’s “No.1 parasocial” Incident.
In one of 2025’s peak parasocial moments, a fan of American streamer iShowSpeed who went by the username @wynzmanz posted an impassioned, near-diary-length thread on X dissecting his relationship with ex-girlfriend Vanessa Anne. (“For months, she dropped hint after hint, hoping you’d notice, but you never did. I’ve gathered them all here for you.”) Declaring themselves Speed’s “No. 1 parasocial,” the user went beyond chronicling their relationship to analyze why the “cracks” formed. Speed promptly blocked them, but not before the thread racked up 11.2 million views, unleashing an onslaught of memes, debates, and a renewed fascination with what parasocial devotion can look like.
Taylor Swift’s Engagement Crashout
The global pop star’s fairytale engagement with NFL star Travis Kelce went on to take over even the farthest corners of the internet. From global media coverage to fans posting hysterical breakdowns, everyone was beaming with joy about their “close and personal friend,” Mrs. Blondie. The frenzy triggered a spike in searches for “parasocial,” as commentators dissected the moment as a masterclass in stan-culture overidentification: a celebrity milestone transformed into a collective catharsis, complete with entitlement, imagined proximity, and the insistence that her happiness somehow validated their own.
Jungkook’s “Girlfriend” Backlash
It came as no surprise when an alleged image of Jungkook of BTS and Winter, a member of AESPA, went viral for all the wrong reasons, leading to a Chinese whisper of alleged link-up rumors. On this “supposed” roster, names of women from the Korean entertainment industry, including Lee Yubi and Hyun Shin Ji, were thrown around carelessly. This mere suspicion snowballed into a vitriolic character assassination, with fans not only accusing the maknae of being a womanizer, but also of undergoing plastic surgery to hide his actual age. Since the onslaught of these vicious rumors, the singer’s security was also compromised when a Japanese woman attempted to trespass on his private property.
KATSEYE’s EYEKONS Breaking Boundaries
KATSEYE’s Manon recently came under fire after old pictures of her smoking resurfaced online. Given the conservative state of Korean stan culture, which places their idols on a pedestal of purity, these images ignited a flurry of discussions. While some dismissed this as unpardonable, other fans were quick to point out that the same claustrophobic rules can’t bind a multinational girl group. KATSEYE has also been vocal about the parasocial undercurrents in their lives, right from dating speculations and secret boyfriends to facing racism, death threats, and online hatred. In an interview with BBC, member Sophia Laforteza candidly opened up about navigating the murky aspects of fame, stating “We have to warn them that the internet and like the whole buzz is a big part of our lives. If it does end up happening and you get clipped, it’s inevitable.”
Dan And Phil Call Out “Phandom” Conspiracies
In a 46-minute long video, British YouTubers Dan and Phil finally confirmed their 16-year relationship. Probably the oldest victims of parasocial conspiracy theories surrounding their relationship, the internet personalities have not only been under immense scrutiny, about their sexuality and bond, but also stalked and doxxed to the extent that a fan eerily recreated a replica of their bedroom on Roblox. Everything, from subtle glances to their housing situation was blown completely out of proportion, all in the name of confirming “Phan,” their encompassing ship name that dominated 2010s internet culture. Gently addressing the years of suppressed trauma, the YouTubers acknowledged the impact of toxic fandoms, both on their professional and personal lives, such as pretending to be straight during press interviews, or having their privacy be repeatedly invaded.
Billie Eilish’s Fan Manhandling Encounter
Videos from Billie Eilish’s sold-out Miami leg of her “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT” tour went viral for all the wrong reasons. As the singer-songwriter interacted with the audience, a fan aggressively yanked her arm, dragging her towards the crowded barricade. While security personnel promptly jumped in to protect her, a fan in the pit also defended Eilish, who later attacked the perpetrator, who then famously went on to be known as the “red bandana girl” on social media.
The Summer We All Forgot Internet Etiquette
Keeping up with the tradition of popular TV shows garnering toxic shipping culture, The Summer I Turned Pretty fans predictably took it too far during the airing of the penultimate season. As the unhinged love triangle between Belly, Jeremiah, and Conrad deepened with each episode, so did the fans’ heightened obsession with making their “endgame” of choice win, so much so that the lines between fiction and reality began to blur. Not only were fans directing this hate towards actual actors Lola Tung and Gavin Casalegno, but also cyberbullying other members of the fandom who disagreed with their opinions. Amazon Prime Video issued a PSA in response, solidifying community guidelines and reiterating their zero hate tolerance policy.
Chapell Roan Does Not Want To Be Your Best Friend
In a two-part video, The ‘Pink Pony Club’ singer called out the normalization of fans repeatedly exhibiting creepy behavior, highlighting how the false notion of “knowing” someone adds to the overarching sense of entitlement.“It’s weird how people think that you know a person just ’cause you see them online or you listen to the art they make,” she stated in a follow-up. From her family getting stalked to being bullied and harassed for refusing photos with fans, the Midwest princess has been repeatedly frank about the perils of parasocial stan culture affecting her mental and physical health.
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