"Many media users feel as if they are engaging in an interaction or have a personal relationship with people they see in the media. These psychological experiences, that are collectively referred to as parasocial experiences (PSEs). This Handbook offers a thorough synthesis of the fast-growing, international, and multi-disciplinary research of PSEs, celebrating the field's accomplishments to date but also outlining a blueprint for future growth. The book is organized in six sections covering: (1) theoretical, conceptual, and operational definitions of PSEs; (2) theoretical models and state-of-the-art review of research on PSEs across the lifespan; (3) the effects of PSEs on media users' self and their social life (e.g., intergroup relationships, marginalized sexual groups); (3) the effects of PSEs in various contexts such as health, politics, and marketing; and (4) identifying understudied areas of research that call for further investigation (comparative cross-cultural research, marginalized racial/ethnic identities, non-amicable PSRs). In addition to a thorough synthesis of the literature, the handbook identifies several critical theoretical questions that the PSEs research faces today. Across the thematic chapters, the authors debate several overarching critical theoretical issues in PSEs research, such as the boundaries between parasocial and social phenomena and the distinctions between PSEs and other forms of involvement with media. The book also includes a hands-on methodological chapter that provides detailed information about measurement and manipulation of PSEs"--

"Many media users feel as if they are engaging in an interaction or have a personal relationship with people they see in the media. These psychological experiences, that are collectively referred to as parasocial experiences (PSEs). This Handbook offers a thorough synthesis of the fast-growing, international, and multi-disciplinary research of PSEs, celebrating the field's accomplishments to date but also outlining a blueprint for future growth. The book is organized in six sections covering: (1) theoretical, conceptual, and operational definitions of PSEs; (2) theoretical models and state-of-the-art review of research on PSEs across the lifespan; (3) the effects of PSEs on media users' self and their social life (e.g., intergroup relationships, marginalized sexual groups); (3) the effects of PSEs in various contexts such as health, politics, and marketing; and (4) identifying understudied areas of research that call for further investigation (comparative cross-cultural research, marginalized racial/ethnic identities, non-amicable PSRs). In addition to a thorough synthesis of the literature, the handbook identifies several critical theoretical questions that the PSEs research faces today. Across the thematic chapters, the authors debate several overarching critical theoretical issues in PSEs research, such as the boundaries between parasocial and social phenomena and the distinctions between PSEs and other forms of involvement with media. The book also includes a hands-on methodological chapter that provides detailed information about measurement and manipulation of PSEs"--

This book covers key aspects of parasocial relationships (PSRs), or the relationships people have with media personalities, including fictional characters. The authors address social relationships vs. parasocial relationships as a continuum rather than a dichotomy. They also discuss prominent theories in psychology and how they should be applied to parasocial theory.

Influencer Politics focuses on current discussions about the role and impact of social media influencers in the political sphere, and how the personal, political and promotional often converges in digital media. A key question is how core ideas of influencer culture - authenticity, intimacy, commercialism, and self-branding - shape the ways in which politics are expressed and understood in this context, as well as opens up space for new ways of connecting and interacting with the public. It also highlights the way that influencer culture itself is infused with politics, where issues of, for example, empowerment and exploitation are articulated and discussed in different ways. The book is the result of a common interest among researchers engaged in work on political aspects of influencer marketing and influencer culture from critical, cultural, and strategic perspectives, and offers a range of case studies devoted to both the promises and limitations of influencer politics.

Audience Interactions in Contemporary Celebrity Culture: Approaches from across Disciplines explores current understandings of celebrity-audience relationships in the context of digitalization and the ongoing celebritization of all aspects of culture and society. Focusing on the themes of celebrity and health, celebrity and identity, and celebrity and scandal, this volume presents chapters authored by experts from across the globe that deal with celebrity-audience relationships in different historical, cultural, and social settings, tackling the topics from social-psychological, critical/cultural, and persuasive perspectives. In doing so, this book highlights the broadening of disciplinary, paradigmatic, theoretical, and methodological approaches to celebrity studies research. By bringing these different approaches together in one book and drawing overall conclusions across chapters, the editors and contributors of this volume promote and facilitate cross-fertilization in ongoing efforts to grasp the fascinating complexity of celebrity-audiences relationships. Scholars of media, pop culture, and celebrity studies will find this collection particularly useful.