BBC News｜剑桥词典2025年度词汇：“准社交”

Cambridge Dictionary names 'parasocial' as its Word of the Year for 2025

Host: Now, do you ever feel like you know a celebrity you follow online, even though you've never met them in real life? Could you see yourself as their friend or think that you'd get on really well together if you were ever to meet?

Well, if so, you're not alone. It's called a parasocial relationship. And now one of the UK's major dictionaries has named it as their word of the year for 2025. Cambridge Dictionary's Daniel Hutchinson told us how they go about choosing that word.

Daniel Hutchinson: We're looking at trends sort of throughout the year. So we analyse a lot of data. Our lexicographers who work on the dictionary also have an extensive reading programme.

But we're also looking for a crucial factor, which is staying power. So obviously, words come and go, trends come and go. But we're looking for something that has really made an impact in the sort of cultural zeitgeist, if you like.

Essentially, what parasocial means is it describes a one-sided connection that people have with a famous person. So a good example would be someone like Taylor Swift, or possibly these days even an AI chatbot. So it's someone they're unlikely to ever meet. But we kind of think of as our friends. And this is all made possible by current digital technology.

Host: Well, Dr. Veronica Lamarche, a senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Essex, has researched the phenomenon and its history.

Veronica Lamarche: Parasocial relationships are something that researchers have been aware of for decades. The term actually goes back to the 1960s.

And originally, it wouldn't have been these digital relationships, but it would have been the types of relationships you would have had with the Beatles or the royal family or any kind of one-sided famous person. It could also be with fictional characters.

So it's not something that has to do with that unrequited love or obsession. It's a natural psychological connection we form with these other people in the world around us that we admire and feel connected to.

The interesting thing in our own research is that people actually feel that these influencers, these famous people, are capable of fulfilling our emotional needs to a certain extent. And if you think about it, if you're lonely in the middle of the night, you want some comfort, you want some connection, you can turn on these influencers and they can make you feel validated, seen, understood, a bit less lonely.

So there's certainly a healthy component to it. In our own research, we found that 75% of people actually form some form of parasocial relationship, either with an online social influencer, with a movie character, celebrity.

But there can be just like any type of relationship, unhealthy components to it. And I think sometimes this breakdown of boundaries, because we forget that these are real people when we're talking about influencers and celebrities, and we're used to them being on demand for us. We sometimes expect things from them at all times.

词汇表
celebrity [səˈlebrəti] n. 名人，名流，明星
parasocial [ˌpærəˈsəʊʃl] adj. 准社交的，准社会的，拟社会的，单向的
parasocial relationship [ˌpærəˈsəʊʃl] 准社会关系，拟社会关系（与未实际接触者形成的单向情感联结，如名人，网红，AI，虚拟角色等）
trend [trend] n. 趋势，潮流，热门话题
lexicographer [ˌleksɪˈkɒɡrəfə(r)] n. 词典编纂者
reading programme [ˈprəʊɡræm] 阅读计划，阅读方案
staying power 持久性，持久力；耐力
come and go 来来去去，变化不断，转瞬即逝
zeitgeist [ˈzaɪtɡaɪst] n. 时代精神，时代潮流
one-sided connection [ˌwʌn ˈsaɪdɪd] 单向的情感连接，单方面的联结
senior lecturer [ˈsiːniə(r) ˈlektʃərə(r)] 高级讲师，资深讲师
fictional character [ˈfɪkʃənl] 虚构角色，虚构人物
unrequited love [ˌʌnrɪˈkwaɪtɪd] 单相思，单恋，暗恋，未被回应的爱
obsession [əbˈseʃn] n. 痴迷，迷恋
feel connected to [kəˈnektɪd] 感到联结，感到联系紧密
influencer [ˈɪnfluənsə(r)] n. 网红，有影响力的人
validate [ˈvælɪdeɪt] vt. 认可，证实…有价值
breakdown of boundaries [ˈbreɪkdaʊn] 边界感的模糊，界限的打破
be on demand 随叫随到，按需服务

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