Artificial intimacy and synthetic dialogues: Generation Z’s brand interaction and parasocial relationships with ChatGPT-3.5 and ChatGPT-4o
Öz
ChatGPT, a generative artificial intelligence (AI) system developed by OpenAI, offers users an interactive dialogue experience through its human-like responses. The study examines Generation Z’s interactions with ChatGPT within the framework of parasocial relationship theory, aiming to reveal how these interactions are interpreted at the individual level. Seeking to explore how users make sense of these interactions, the study employs a qualitative research methodology and a repeated cross-sectional design that compares two independent participant groups with similar socio-economic, cultural, and professional characteristics at two different points in time. The study examines how users experienced two successive ChatGPT versions. The first phase of the research was conducted in 2023 with ChatGPT-3.5 users, while the second phase was carried out in 2025 with ChatGPT-4o users. The findings indicate that ChatGPT-3.5 was regarded as functional in terms of providing easy access to information and understanding questions yet was perceived as emotionally weak and mechanical. Interactions with ChatGPT-4o, by contrast, were experienced as warmer and more fluent.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Kaynakça
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Ayrıntılar
Birincil Dil
İngilizce
Konular
İletişim Çalışmaları
Bölüm
Araştırma Makalesi
Yayımlanma Tarihi
8 Temmuz 2026
Gönderilme Tarihi
1 Ağustos 2025
Kabul Tarihi
27 Haziran 2026
Yayımlandığı Sayı
Yıl 2026 Sayı: 70