Understanding the Nature of the Relationship Established with Turkish TV Serial Characters
Abstract
The aim of this study is to explore the underlying motives and patterns
beneath the interaction established with Turkish TV serial characters. Turkish
people generally give importance to the TV serials, and sometimes these serials
affect individuals’ life exceptionally. Parasocial interaction is a one-way relationship
which the audience establishes with the characters of TV serials. This
qualitative phenomenological study was conducted in the context of parasocial
interaction with 13 Turkish individuals. Both semi-structured interview and
document review techniques were used. Data were analyzed using thematic content
analysis. The findings suggested that there are 2 main themes: viewing
motivation as counseling, perceived realism, perceived similarity and
comparison; and parasocial outputs as reinforcement of the previous attitudes,
lessoning, modeling, and deviation in perception of the reality.
Keywords
Turkey,Parasocial Interaction,TV Serials,Viewing Motivation,Parasocial Outputs,Turkey
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