Abstract
Nowadays, the internet plays a major role in people’s lives, especially in the formation of relationships in society. One major form of interaction that gained a lot of space because of the internet is the parasocial relationships, which is defined as one-sided connections with celebrities, media figures, or characters. Considering how much space social media figures have in adolescent’s routines and the fact that adolescents (approximately ages 10–22) are more easily influenced and emotionally reactive due to the maturing of the prefrontal cortex, it is important to investigate the relationships they are building and the content they are consuming. Because of that, this paper seeks to expand knowledge on the nature of parasocial relationships by investigating the effect of these relationships on Brazilian adolescents and young adults. The goal is to investigate how they impact their relationships, emotions, and behaviors. The research findings were based on analyses and discoveries made through a questionnaire designed by the writers and observational research conducted through the study of previous works. Through that, both positive and negative effects of parasocial relationships were discovered. It was found that the adolescents were indeed influenced, so strongly, in fact, that there was an increase in their consumerism habits according to what was promoted by their idols. However, parasocial relationships were not the main reason for young people's screen time, differing from the common belief. Additionally, these relationships have provided comfort to most participants, supporting the hypothesis that many parasocial relationships are established because they help individuals.