Entertainment
Parasocial, how you may have felt after Taylor Swift’s engagement, is Cambridge Dictionary’s word of the year
If you felt a personal connection with a celebrity this year, you likely weren’t alone.
That feeling led Cambridge Dictionary to select “parasocial” as its 2025 word of the year. Parasocial is defied as “involving or relating to a connection that someone feels between themselves and a famous person they do not know, a character in a book, film, TV series, etc., or an artificial intelligence.”
It’s an academic term that has only been around for about 70 years, but it has now become mainstream, said Colin McIntosh, the lexical program manager for Cambridge Dictionary
“Millions of people are engaged in parasocial relationships; many more are simply intrigued by their rise,” McIntosh said in a statement. “The data reflects that, with the Cambridge Dictionary website seeing spikes in lookups for ‘parasocial.'”
A recent example of this happened when pop star Taylor Swift and NFL star Travis Kelce announced their engagement. Many fans who have been captivated by Swift’s lyrics for years celebrated the moment despite not actually knowing her or Kelce.
But parasocial relationships can become problematic, Simone Schnall, a professor of experimental social psychology at the University of Cambridge, said.
“We’ve entered an age where many people form unhealthy and intense parasocial relationships with influencers,” Schnall said. “This leads to a sense that people ‘know’ those they form parasocial bonds with, can trust them and even to extreme forms of loyalty. Yet it’s completely one sided.”
The trend is also evolving to include artificial intelligence.
“Parasocial trends take on a new dimension as many people treat AI tools like ChatGPT as ‘friends,’ offering positive affirmations, or as a proxy for therapy. This is an illusion of a relationship and group think, and we know young people can be susceptible for this,” Schnall said.
Cambridge Dictionary’s announcement follows Dictionary.com naming “67” as its 2025 word of the year.
Prince George, once the newborn cradled on hospital steps, is now approaching a moment every family recognizes the move to secondary school.
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Netflix is kicking off January with a packed lineup of new movies and TV series, featuring mystery dramas, romantic comedies, action thrillers, and major returning hits.
The month begins on January 1 with Run Away, the latest Harlan Coben adaptation. The eight-episode series stars James Nesbitt as a father searching for his missing daughter and is adapted by Danny Brocklehurst. The cast includes Minnie Driver, Ruth Jones, Alfred Enoch, and Lucian Msamati.
Rom-com fans can look forward to People We Meet on Vacation on January 9. Based on Emily Henry’s novel, the film stars Emily Bader and Tom Blyth as longtime friends who reconnect during a trip abroad.
Netflix’s biggest movie of the month arrives January 16 with The Rip, an action thriller starring Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. The film follows Miami cops whose trust collapses after finding a massive stash of cash.
The month ends with Bridgerton season 4, Part 1, debuting January 29. The season focuses on Benedict Bridgerton and includes eight episodes split into two parts.
Netflix is also adding dozens of movies, including Dune, 12 Years a Slave, Free Solo, District 9, and Erin Brockovich.
Check out the complete list below:
January 1
Dr. Seuss’s Red Fish, Blue Fish: Season 2
Love from 9 to 5 (MX)
My Korean Boyfriend (BR)
Run Away (GB)
Time Flies (AR)
12 Years a Slave
30 Minutes or Less
Becky
Brüno
Colombiana
Conan the Destroyer
Dawn of the Dead
Despicable Me
Despicable Me 2
District 9
Dune
Erin Brockovich
Falling Skies: Seasons 1-5
Forever My Girl
Free Solo
Ghostbusters: Answer the Call
Green Room
Harry and the Hendersons
Hellboy
Johnny Mnemonic
Just Go With It
Lone Survivor
Man on Fire
Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life
My Girl
Only the Brave
Pitch Perfect
Priscilla
Twins
Wild Things
January 2
Found: Seasons 1-2
Land of Sin (SE)
January 3
The Following: Seasons 1-3
January 5
Monday Night Raw: 2026
January 6
Pokémon Horizons: Season 3 – Rising Hope Part 1 (JP)
January 7
11.22.63: Season 1
Marcello Hernández: American Boy
Unlocked: A Jail Experiment: Season 2
January 8
HIS & HERS
Love Is Blind: Germany: Season 2 (DE)
January 9
Alpha Males: Season 4 (ES)
People We Meet on Vacation
Prodigal Son: Seasons 1-2
Stone Cold Fox
January 12
Monday Night Raw: 2026
January 13
The Boyfriend: Season 2 (JP)
January 14
The Queen of Flow: Season 3 (CO)
Veronica Mars: Seasons 1-3
January 15
Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials (GB)
Bone Lake
Love Through a Prism (JP)
The Upshaws: Part 7
To Love, To Lose (TR)
January 16
Can This Love Be Translated? (KR)
No Tail to Tell (KR)
Southland: Seasons 1-5
The Rip
January 19
Monday Night Raw: 2026
Sandokan: Season 1
January 20
Just a Dash: Seasons 1-3
Rizzoli & Isles: Seasons 1-7
Star Search
WWE: Unreal: Season 2
January 21
Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart (GB)
January 22
Cosmic Princess Kaguya! (JP)
Finding Her Edge
January 23
Skyscraper Live
The Big Fake (IT)
January 26
Monday Night Raw: 2026
My Sesame Street Friends: My Sesame Music
January 27
Mike Epps: Delusional
Take That
January 29
Bridgerton: Season 4 Part 1
- Pakistan, China iron-clad, all-weather partners: FO spox.
- Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, says Tahir Andrabi.
- China completed “Justice Mission 2025” drills near Taiwan.
Islamabad on Friday reiterated its firm support for Beijing on the Taiwan issue, reaffirming its commitment to the One-China principle.
Responding to media queries regarding recent developments in the Taiwan Strait, Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi said that Pakistan and China are iron-clad friends and all-weather strategic cooperative partners.
The statement came amid the rising tension between China and Taiwan, following the former’s military exercise.
In his statement, the Foreign Office spokesperson said that Pakistan consistently supports China on all matters concerning its core national interests, including Taiwan.
“We (Pakistan) reiterate our consistent support to China on all matters of its core interests, including Taiwan,” he added.
“We will continue to adhere to the One-China principle and regard Taiwan as an inalienable part of China.”
China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, and it has not ruled out using force to take it under Chinese control.
Beijing announced late on Wednesday the completion of the drills, saying its military would remain on high alert and continue to strengthen its combat-readiness.
The exercises named “Justice Mission 2025” saw China fire dozens of rockets and deploy a large number of warships and aircraft near the island.
—With additional input from Reuters
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