The future is parasocial: Cambridge Dictionary’s word of the year

Most Tamilians might not be aware of “parasocial”, the word of the year chosen by Cambridge Dictionary, but they have been living it since the 1960s when MG Ramachandran became a superstar in the state. His mil­lions of fans felt a personal relationship with him, and when he died, some even committed suicide. This trend, of feeling connected with someone far removed by celebritydom, and with whom they would never come into contact, continued with Rajinikanth and other superstars. It is directly correlated to film stars having such an outsized role in the state’s politics.

You might not see such intense parasocial behaviour elsewhere, but it exists in many degrees. Why else do people throng outside the houses of Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan just to get a wave of their hands? It is a one-sided relationship, and that is what makes it an in­triguing phenomenon. Adu­lation and obsession, that in a different era, were reserved for gods, have been trans­ferred to movie stars and entertainers as the medium through which they entered lives widened. If a drama troupe had to painstakingly go from village to village once upon a time, a movie can captivate the whole country simultaneously, and television comes right into homes.

Cambridge chose the word because of something else that is happening. People are now having such one-sided relationships with artificial intelligence as chatbots speak and respond like real people. They can be given form through image and video generation. Users are developing intimate connections with an entity that exists only as an illusion. At least MGR and Amitabh Bachchan were flesh and blood.

One can only imagine how much the world will change not too far in the future, when virtual reality and brain implants make it possible to see and feel these illusory beings. And they would not be flawed like the usual man or woman. Is there any reason for relationships between human beings to even exist anymore then? You might have it with imme­diate family, but when there are perfect friends and lovers available easily, why would anyone else be needed?