We asked therapist Anastasia Pollock to explain why a lot of us feel personally invested in celebrity relationships.
Why do we get so emotionally invested in celebrity break-ups?
Every time a celebrity couple breaks up, there is an emotional reaction from the masses. Articles speculating what happened to end the relationship pop up all over social media and other websites and everyone seems to have an opinion. Often, we start taking sides and trying to figure out what in the world happened. So, why do we get emotionally invested in celebrity relationships?
More exposure
We have more exposure to celebrities personal lives than ever before with social medial. We start following them on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, posting pictures from their personal lives.
We feel like we’re part of their squad
Because we have a window into their family lives, we start to feel as if we know them. We develop a parasocial (one-sided) relationship with them and assume that we know who they really are, imagining we could actually be friends if we met them in real life.
We become emotionally invested
Because we develop a parasocial relationship, we become emotionally invested. So when there is a break up, we feel like the relationship of a good friend has ended. This is the root of those heated conversations between friends who have taken sides in the split of a celebrity couple.
We start to question our own relationships
We idealize celebrity couples and assume that they must have less stressors than the rest of us. After all, they are generally financially stable, able to take amazing vacations, and seem so happy on their social media profiles and pictures from the red carpet. When they break up, we start to ask the question “If they can’t make it, what does that say about my relationship?”
Keep it all in perspective
We must remember that celebrities are human beings like the rest of us, with stressors and relationship dynamics that no one, except the people in the relationship, can understand. The demise of a celebrity relationship only means that two people had a fondness for each other, gave couplehood a shot, and then decided for whatever reason that the relationship needed to end.
You can get more great information from Anastasia here.
