Published Online:December 2025
Product Name:The IUP Journal of Information Technology
Product Type:Article
Product Code:IJIT031225
DOI:10.71329/IUPJIT/2025.21.4.40-62
Author Name:Seemant Kumar Yadav
Availability:YES
Subject/Domain:Engineering
Download Format:PDF
Pages:40-62
The rapid increase in internet usage, and therefore social media, has changed the pattern of people’s connection with products and media characters. In such a scenario, the social media influencers have reshaped consumer perceptions by developing parasocial relationships (PSRs) with their audience. A majority of research on this subject has been conducted in Western countries, and there is very little PSR research in countries like India. To fill this gap, the present study was conducted in India, taking university students as the sample, to examine their PSR with their favorite YouTubers. The data was analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) to test both measurement and structural models. The findings reveal the role of homophily, loneliness, attraction dimensions (task, social, or physical) and self-esteem in predicting PSRs of male and female respondents with their favorite YouTubers.
Recent developments in digital technology have changed the format of buyer-seller interaction. Instead of traditional face-to-face exchanges, these interactions increasingly take place in virtual spaces (Razaghi & Shokouhyar, 2021). Horton and Wohl (1956) introduced the term parasocial interaction (PSI) to describe the kind of connection that audience forms with media figures through mediated encounters.