Study shows viewers develop relationship with TV characters - Lifeline.
Study shows viewers develop relationship with TV characters By: Joe Borlik Issue date: 4/22/09 Section: Lifeline
If you watch a TV show enough, it may feel like the characters on the show are your real friends. The Journal of Broadcasting and Public Media conducted a study on parasocial relationships that determined for some people, it's not uncommon to feel as though a real friendship has ended when a Television show goes off the air.
Jeffrey Weinstock, professor of English who teaches ENG 324: Popular Culture in America, said the most intense relationships between viewers and characters are created by genre programs such as science fiction, fantasy or horror. "People talk about these programs online and they feel like they were made for them," he said. "I was sad to see Twin Peaks go, I still feel like I have a relationship with the characters."
Weinstock said he can understand having a relationship with TV characters because people become invested in the characters they watch. He said it is easier to develop relationships with characters on dramas or sitcoms because it is easy to relate with them. "I watch a lot of 'South Park,' but I don't have a relationship with any of the characters because 'South Park' doesn't try to represent itself as the real world," he said.
