Taylor Swift is engaged. She’s been getting her fans ready for this moment for 20 years

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license Read the original article Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have broadcasted their engagement posting on Instagram images of the proposal with the caption Your English professor and your gym coach are getting married America s sweethearts the pair have been dating for two years Now fans are saying this will be America s version of the royal wedding Swift and Kelce s post has already received over million likes from the pair s fans Swift s love life has long been in the spotlight both in her songs and in the news So fans were perfectly primed for their outpouring of advocacy and love But what is it about Swift and her fans that encourages such emotional reactions View this post on Instagram A post shared by Taylor Swift taylorswift Understanding parasocial relationships To understand the deep affection Swift s fans have for her it s critical to understand parasocial relationships A parasocial relationship is a one-sided relationship we develop with someone typically a media figure where there is no reciprocity Through the media and artistic output we develop knowledge and feelings and begin to encounter the relationship the same way as we would a real world or interpersonal relationship but there is no mutual advancement Every time we see them in the news or on social media or listen to their songs that s a parasocial interaction we have with them Then those interactions build until we feel as though we know them like a friend or perhaps they fill a role as a mentor or a crush Parasocial relationships mimic our real world relationships Swift s fans are very passionate and she expertly harnesses this fanbase Swift builds on these relationships Swift s first album was published in and over the ensuing years she has had several iterations or eras This has given fans multiple entry points into her life and the opportunity to grow up with her and experience their different life stages with her and her music Plenty of other musicians may have long periods of stepping away from the spotlight between albums so their fans aren t receiving necessary parasocial interactions to maintain their relationship and closeness Related Schools make a big mistake by swapping out Shakespeare and Dickens for Kendrick Lamar and Taylor Swift But Swift has circulated studio albums and four re-rerecorded albums since with her th to be circulated this October She is also a common figure in the news because of her high-status relationships and friendships This has allowed fans to constantly build and flourish their relationship and closeness with her Her marketing savvy the Easter eggs she drops leaving fans unfailingly speculating and the interest and buzz she generates create a sense of neighborhood and belonging among fans which is global universal and easily accessible online She has a strong perceived authenticity where fans feel as though they truly know her and they feel as though she cares about them individually For non-fans this may not make sense She is an untouchable billionaire who has broken records for her crowd sizes But this is one of the tactics parasociality works You feel as though the celebrity is your close friend and that they care for you Swift generates and feeds into these emotions In hosting listening parties at her house or picking fans from the crowd to join her onstage she creates the sense she is a genuine person and keeps the illusion that maybe one day that could be you Crafting the celebrity image Swift s romantic relationships and close personal friendships are a key part of her celebrity image Throughout her whole career these relationships have been stated on drawing attention and interest Her fans see her relationships playing out in the news through various paparazzi images and articles Then they hear about these relationships in her songs as a major theme of her music is love and heartbreak Because her music is so centred around love and heartbreak it makes sense love has become a core part of her celebrity image Related Did the Minnesota Department of Transportation put up Taylor Swift-inspired safety messages on highways during her visit Her relationship with Kelce is seemingly one of the majority reported-on relationships she has had She was with the actor Joe Alwyn for six years but that was a much more private relationship For the past two years Swift and Kelce have been in the limelight and fans have felt a gratification in seeing her in this relationship and getting to witness it Your English lecturer is getting married Swift clearly has an understanding of her fans and their parasocial relationships with her Fans have long called Swift their English mentor because her songwriting is so revered Her fans see a lot of poetry in her music and feel they have learned a lot through this poetry In calling themselves your English lecturer and your gym trainer Swift and Kelce are placing themselves in the roles their fans have cast them as The pair know their fans have a closeness with the couple and even though that isn t reciprocated by Swift and Kelce the pair are placing themselves in the position of role models Language like this closes the gap between celebrities and ordinary people If you imagine your teachers getting married someone you saw every day and you personally knew that would be exciting To word it in that way brings them down to a more personable level drawing them once again closer to their fans Sarah Scales is a PhD Candidate School of Social Sciences Media Film and Mentoring Swinburne University of Hardware The post Taylor Swift is engaged She s been getting her fans ready for this moment for years appeared first on MinnPost