A One-Sided Affair: Parasocial Attachment with Icons and Its Correlation to Interpersonal Relations of Millennials

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the level of parasocial attachment of millennials with media icons and its relationship with their interpersonal relationships. Parasocial relationships are those formed when an individual feels that he or she has a real relationship or connection with a famous person while Interpersonal relationships are real relationships formed by a person with another individual. Various researches, books, and articles have been made about these variables. To determine if the literature and studies are seen in the context of the researcher’s selected organization and to answer the research problem and its sub problems, quantitative and qualitative instruments were used. Questionnaires, which consisted of 2 parts: parasocial attachment and interpersonal relationship, were administered to 114 participants and 7 of them were interviewed. The results of the survey indicated that there is a low positive correlation between the two variables, and the interview confirmed that the millennial employees’ parasocial attachments have low interdependence with interpersonal relationships with their co-workers. The results also show that the millennial employees have an above average or a fairly high level of parasocial attachment as well as interpersonal relationships. The researcher recommends that there should be further study about parasocial attachments used as motivational factors; organizations should use the findings that employees have an above average level of interpersonal relationship with each other to create better team unity and better performance as a team or individual and; there should be further study on the topic of this thesis with different type of organizations, different cultures, more samples, and a more diverse group of employees in terms of sex and age.