If you feel a deep, one-sided bond with pop stars or influential figures online even though youve never met them, then your behavior is "parasocial", according to the Cambridge Dictionary, which on Tuesday, November 18, unveiled the adjective as its Word of the Year for 2025.Lexicographers selected the term in a year marked by intense public interest in the one-sided relationships people form with celebrities, social media influencers, and increasingly, AI chatbots.Parasocial is defined as involving or relating to a connection that someone feels between themselves and a famous person they do not know.The term itself is not new; it dates back to 1956 when two University of Chicago sociologists noted television viewers developing these relationships with TV personalities, viewing them with the same familiarity as close friends or family.However, this year saw the word's usage explode as digital platforms amplified the perceived closeness between public figures and their audiences.Simone Schnall, a professor of experimental social psychology at the University of Cambridge, hailed the choice as "inspired," noting that many people are now forming "unhealthy and intense parasocial relationships with influencers."Furthermore, as artificial intelligence becomes a constant presence, these trends take on a new dimension: "many people treat AI tools like ChatGPT as friends, offering positive affirmations, or as a proxy for therapy, she added.The impact of internet culture on the English language is undeniable, shaping how we communicate and defining new dictionary entries.Colin McIntosh, a Cambridge Dictionary lexicographer, confirmed that they only add words that are thought to have "staying power," stating, "Internet culture is changing the English language and the effect is fascinating to observe and capture in the dictionary.Alongside "parasocial," the dictionary received an influx of new words, phrases, and meanings in the past 12 months, totaling 6,212 entries.Among the new additions is Slop, a term that received an updated definition to refer to low-quality, AI-generated content that is increasingly inundating the internet. Another new entry is Skibidi, a slang term described as having different meanings, such as cool or bad, though it can also be used with no real meaning, as a joke, or in phrases such as: What the skibidi are you doing?Additionally, the list includes Delulu, a popular shortening and play on the word delusional, and Tradwife, which is short for traditional wife, meaning a married woman, especially one who posts on social media, who stays at home doing cooking, cleaning.
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