Everyday Parasocial Relationships and Health Change

In 2014, I saw Paul McCartney in concert. This was a special occasion because Paul is my favorite artist and I’d been listening to him for years. The concert was spectacular. A few days after the concert, I received a video that I recall being connected to him somehow. The video included some difficult information about how animals raised for food are treated.

As a child, when I learned about being vegetarian, I thought that it was something I’d like to do, being an animal lover. But, being raised eating meat, I didn’t see how that was going to happen. Fast forward to adulthood, after having seen this video, I asked myself, “I wonder what would happen if I tried to cut beef and pork out of my diet?” Having no idea what would happen, I resolved to try it for 30 days. Turns out, not eating beef or pork was easy for me – barely an inconvenience. Thirty days turned into 10 years.

In January of 2024, I sat down to watch a Netflix series whose title intrigued me: You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment. The series focuses on a cross-disciplinary study at Stanford University that followed over 20 sets of identical twins. One twin ate a plant-based diet; the other a healthy omnivore diet. Both twins exercised. The twins themselves were entertaining; it was fun to follow their progress. In the end, multiple measures of health improved in the twin who ate the plant-based diet, as compared to their healthy omnivore twin. These included indicators of good circulation (part of a sexual health study), measures of aging, and the state of their microbiomes.

The Chicken Part

There was a part of the series that covered the treatment of chickens. I learned that 96% of chickens raised for food live in terrible conditions where sicknesses spread easily. Tests showed that a significant amount of grocery store chicken carried pathogens like E. Coli.

While watching the “chicken part,” of the film (pun intended), I was literally eating some turkey spaghetti. I said aloud to myself, “Oh, damn. This is the last turkey I’ll be eating, isn’t it?” I resolved to go vegetarian and try some plant-based dairy products. It’s going great so far; my husband and I love it and are seeing improvements in our health.

Watching Others Eat Their Veggies

As a psychologist who studies our connection to various forms of media, I noticed with interest that two big dietary improvements in my life were catalyzed by encounters with people I "met" through the media. I saw something that I thought was important, and I thought about whether I could use that information or influence and improve my life.

My connection to Paul McCartney is called a parasocial relationship – I know a lot about him, but he’s never met me (I’m sure he glanced at me meaningfully during that concert – LOL). I greatly admire Paul. I’ve followed him and his music for as long as I can remember. I watched The Beatles’ Get Back and witnessed his song-writing genius. I listened to him on Alan Alda’s podcast Clear & Vivid, again, going over his songwriting process. I admire his mastery of music, but also his clear love of it. And, yes, I admit I have always had a bit of a crush on him...me and countless other people who sometimes scream and pass out at the thought of him.

As for the Stanford scientists, you could call my relationship with them a parasocial relationship as well. I’ve never had a back-and-forth with any of them. However, as a scientist myself, I do know some famous scientists and can easily imagine actually talking with someone from the Netflix series. In their case, I was impressed by the quality of the work and the importance of what they were communicating. I’m glad I was influenced by them. I’ve been telling my friends all about the series.

Veggie Role Models

People who practice vegetarianism or veganism sometimes get backlash. People sometimes see folks who don’t eat meat as self-righteous and irritating. People have told me straight out that it reminds them that they aren’t doing something they really would like to do. For some, it makes them feel guilty. I certainly understand. When you meet a person who runs marathons, teaches pilates, or has written a successful novel, you might think, “Gosh, what have I been doing with my life?” Though people don't eat veggies or teach pilates just to make you feel bad about yourself, it's understandable that it can have that effect. All the more reason to have role models who go for it anyway.

The point of this post is to highlight ways in which our connections to other people in the media may play a big role in our health or in something else equally important. There’s a lot of bad news in our world today. Whatever your diet of food, I hope you find some great things in your media diet that change your world in ways you love.