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Charles Rex Arbogast / AP
Bye, Oprah. We'll miss you. (Some of us more than others, suggests a recent study.)
If you're one of the zillions who is tearful over the thought of life without "The Oprah Winfrey Show," now you have a scientific excuse for your sadness. (You get a scientific excuse! And you get a scientific excuse! And -- OK, that's enough.)
A recent study showed that when a favorite TV show goes off the air -- even temporarily -- its absence can leave the show's most fanatical viewers feeling lonelier. In 'Oprah's' case, we're thinking the rather emotive women featured on the blog Faces of the Last Season of Oprah will be among those having the hardest time dealing with the loss of the show, which ends its 25th and final season on Wednesday.
If you're blue over losing Oprah -- or the characters from shows-gone-by like "Lost" or "Arrested Development" -- that feeling can be explained by a term coined in the 1950s by a pair of psychiatrists: You've developed a "parasocial," or one-sided, relationship with the people that live inside your TV (or inside your computer screen, if Hulu is more your thing).
"We develop these relationships with certain characters -- and it doesn't have to be a fictional character; it could be a TV personality, like Oprah," says Emily Moyer-Guse, an assistant professor of communications at Ohio State University. She's the lead author of the new study, which was published in the journal Mass Communication and Society.
Related: Oprah's 10 most memorable moments
"We develop them over time -- it's actually part of the normal way we watch and enjoy TV," says Moyer-Guse. "We watch these shows, and we start to think of them like a friend." Not to say many of us actually believe we're friends with Oprah or other TV personalities; but the people in the media we choose to spend our time with likely have qualities we'd seek out in friendships. "It’s kind of the same things that drive real relationships with people," she explains.
Back to Moyer-Guse's new study: Remember the TV writers' strike in 2007 and 2008? Moyer-Guse was missing her favorite show, "Lost," and wondered how others were handling the temporary loss of their favorite programs. So in the spring of 2008, she and former Ohio State graduate student Julie Lather rounded up 403 undergrads to answer an online questionnaire, all about TV.
They asked the volunteers about their "relationship" with their favorite TV characters, instructing the students to rate on a scale of 1 to 5 how much they agreed with the sentence, "My favorite character makes me feel comfortable, as if I am with a friend." Other questions were meant to suss out how much the show meant to the students, by rating from 1 to 5 how much they agreed with a statement like this one: "Now that my favorite television show is off the air, I feel more lonely."
Related: Imagining a world without Oprah
They were also asked why they watched TV -- for companionship? To relax? To escape? Finally, the students were asked what they did with their newfound free time, now that their shows were off the air.
People who said they had deeper "friendships" with their favorite TV characters also said they felt lonelier in the characters' absence. And the students who said they watched TV for companionship reported the most distress related to their shows' temporary absences. And, no, people didn't use this break in the TV season to do crazy things like exercise, garden or read -- most said they just watched reruns, or surfed the Internet.
Moyer-Guse's research didn't look at any shows that have been on the air as long as Oprah's has, but it's clear that the longer a person has been watching a show, the stronger their parasocial bond with the program and its characters will be.
"Part of what drives it is the predictability, and the knowing that this is someone that is always going to be there, and you know what to expect from this individual," Moyer-Guse says. "For a whole generation of the population, it’s something that’s always been on, every day."
Is there a TV show you're still mourning? Leave a comment telling us what it is, and why you miss it.
Follow Melissa Dahl on Twitter @melissadahl.
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Leave a Comment:
Believe me, once we FINALLY lose Oprah, it will be the best thing that ever happened. Thank goodness, she is FINALLY going to be gone. Good riddance!
I think there should be a law against someone having this much power and influence over millions and woman and men. She's a box of rocks. I read a article about her visit to an art studio in DC. She was so rude to the proprietor and his staff, and she spoke in the 3rd person. "Oprah doesn't do stairs", is a quote from that story. What an @!$%#. Okra Windbag, good riddance.
I was pretty neutral towards Oprah until she took over Discovery Health. We haven't been on such good terms since then...
I have never been a fan of Oprah, especially since noting her unreal influence over so many women. Her New Age philosophy has always turned me off but what really did it for me was her venture into the political arena and using her show to influence so many voters. So many people trusted her choice and allowed themselves be swayed. Says a lot about our country!
I think the woman has done a lot of good and doesn't deserve the negative press in these posts. But having such a strong attachment to a personality is not healthy. I suggest the people who are adversely affected by this "loss" wean themselves immediately, stand on their own feet and find a life.
Gee, maybe she should have done a show of "How to get a life."
Oh my, Oprah is gone! Well, I started watching her show and quit that real soon, along with watching the other women oriented talk-shows. I got tired of the; "Oh, I'm so distraught! My husband is in love with my mother's little Peke, whatever can I do? Boo hoo hoo!" It was apparent early on that most women watching that sort of thing were happily experiencing "Shaden freuda." I figured that out by listening to the women at work talking about the show.
Why on earth would anyone do this kind of study? No wonder America is going down the toilet. If you are experiencing emotional distress because of some stupid TV show that goes off the air. Please do the rest of the country a favor and put a bullet in your brain. Not only will it rid us of the health care cost but it may even provide someone with a job. However I would say that the study was probably done over the phone to unemployed house wife's or to Artist (People Drawing a Check) that really do not contribute to society except to drain it of tax payer money. As for the house wife's make your husband's get you out and your emotional distress will go away.
@ Mark-3013458 Wow. Housewives only drain society of tax payer dollars? Really? You're a tool
She has her own station. She hasn't gone anywhere, if anything she'll be on more!
"Losing 'Oprah' may lead to lots of lonely ladies, study suggests"
GOOD!!! GET OFF YOUR BUTTS YOU FAT COWS AND GO LOSE SOME WEIGHT!!!! DO SOMETHING PRODUCTIVE WITH YOUR TIME!! PUT. THE. BON-BON'S. DOWN AND GET MOOOVING!!!
I understand this and equate it with the loss of daytime soap operas. These are shows that have been on our screens for over 40-50 years and we have developed a strong bond with the characters that have been on our tvs 5 days aweek, 52 weeks a year. When we lose them its like a death in the family we go into mourning.
except it's not a death in the family. It's someone on a tv show you really don't know. Thus the quotes from psychiatrists about why an otherrwise normal person might feel this way.
exactly AP...we still FEEL like it's a family member and mourn.
This is the best thing that could happen! Especially for us males!
She never did anything for whites or males.
I'm a FEMALE and she bugs the crap out of me! Why so much power? Why do people love her so? Seriously? To me, she's simply another talk show host who's time is up! I can't wait til all this hype is over. Peace Out!
She is not your parent. People should take care of themselves. She did nothing that did not put money in her pocket. Follow the money!
For me it makes no difference as I don't watch TV and have maybe seen just 1 Oprah show all these years. However--I know for sure that many people I know--mostly women--will have more time on their hands than they know what to do with once Oprah and the Soaps are gone. Maybe more people will start volunteering or take an interest in their own lives instead of just watching other people's (fake and real) experiences. A fine day for America!!
It's a sad fact that some people's lives are so pathetic that they live their lives through a tv personality.
Nothing against Oprah. She did do a lot of charitable things and I give her credit for those things. She had no business using her influence on her diehard fans to influence their vote however.
I think she has worn out her welcome. "O" this, "O" that...enough is enough. Just HOW much money does one need? And people bitch about Sarah Palin making a buck?
Where is her talent? Where??? Married white housewives with nothing to do all day. She is filled with hate. If you listen to her being interviewed, she is very racist. She is a bigot. Her one talent is that she can make a blank face on TV. White married women watch her show to feel they are helping the world move forward. What a joke!
The Show's sponsors provided the gifts that "Oprah gave away" and she took credit for it. I will give her this - she became huge with zero talent other than the color of her skin. She was just in the right place at the right time. She had the advisers smart enough to cash in for the big money - and she has more then me. Good for her.
How long is this good bye going to take?....she's the most overated hack on television. Go away Oprah and take your rotund arse with you.
My suggestion for the Oprah mourners. Go for a walk. The weather is getting warmer. Take your bike out for an hour. Spend time with your partner, or your kids. Do something constructive. Something other than parking yourself in front of the TV.
Why do you assume that because someone watches Oprah that they ignore their partner and kids, never go outside, and never exercise? I don't watch Oprah, but I do sit down and watch an hour of television at night before bed. What's the difference? Not everyone who sits and watches Oprah for an hour a day "parks themselves in front of the TV". It's one hour. Sheesh.
I think it's the fact that she's on MID-DAY that brings the concept of lazy, out-of-work viewers. There are people who don't miss an episode...so no job? No kids? No responsibilities? I can see where JANINE would see it that way. I agree!
Yes, bologna, because no one owns a DVR or can watch TV on-line at their convenience. *Eyeroll*
Besides, she's on a 5:00 where I live (and repeated at 10:00 pm on another local station), and a lot of people are home from work by then. There are other ways to watch daytime TV than just in the daytime....this is 2011. You don't have to be unemployed to watch every episode.
"...its absence can leave the show's most fanatical viewers feeling lonelier."
Yes, that's what FANATICS are like.
You have GOT to be kidding me. People need to get a life! Get off your rear end and go donate your time at your church, the Red Cross, a homeless shelter, help local kids with their homework, or get a hobby and learn to knit, crochet, quilt, paint, SOMETHING! People spend WAY too much time in front of the TV. It's really a sad commentary on our society when someone like Oprah has that much influence on our daily lives.
I don't understand. I donate approximately 10 - 15 hours a week at church doing mission outreach, I work at a food pantry both doing intake and USDA/private donation organization, I do homework with my daughter, work full time, read, and I have hobbies. I may not watch Oprah much (I do occasionally), but I like to unwind at the end of the day and I watch just about 1 hour of TV - not every day, but most days. What's the difference? Is it just the fact that it's Oprah? I have a few favorite shows that I watch and I feel a sense of loss when they are cancelled. It's not devastating and it doesn't last long, but something that I enjoy is now gone. I'm not being facetious, I just don't understand the vitriol.
WHERE have you been? Oprah has had that much influence for YEARS!
I am with An Episcopalian....I work full time, am a graduate student, volunteer with a local group, donate blood, go to AAA baseball games every other weekend, I crochet, sing in a barbershop chorus, love reading, go camping....yet I also watch a couple of shows for my enjoyment and relaxation. When they go off the air, I am sad. I get over it, but I still miss them. Why do you have to insult me about it?
WHY??? Because you live in a land with so many people whose needs are so great
that they cannot imagine being able to enjoy the banality of an hour-long television
show that chafes under examination for sanity.
You are attached to a two dimensional object in a 3D world. That show is not put
together haphazardly but in a manner designed to cultivate a particular worldview
and orientation among its sycophantic following.
WHY indeed! On the front page is the story of scores of thousands affected by a
series of tornadoes, the arrest of a scumbag that killed millions of humans in Serbia
(Miladic) years ago while those families continue to languish without their parents,
spouses and children, the plight of thousands of N Africans fleeing home to arrive in
Europe desperate for food and shelter...and people weep over a stinkin' tv show?!!
You ask why people care that this crap means so much while tens of thousands of
Japanese are still suffering from the tsunami?!
Do yourself a favor: dump tv for a week and see how much better your conversation
will sound and your food will taste.
It's turning out to be a couple of good years for TV...out with the same old mind numbing people: Larry King, Katie Couric, Oprah Winfrey and Mary Hart. Now if we could just lose the likes of Glenn Beck and Joy Behar the world of TV personalities would ALMOST be right!
Thanks for writing this. It's interesting. When new Harry Potter books came out I would go get them the second they hit the bookstands and I would stay up for the whole night reading them. When a memoir has a strong voice I often experience sadness when I finish it, simply because it's over. I've had friends who are that way with Star Wars. When Seinfeld ended lots of people were like "wow it's an end of an era, I can't believe it's over." Comic books and webcomics are really easy to become addicted to. This is an interesting article and it's a helpful concept to keep in the back of my mind when I try to lose myself in unhealthy relationships with fiction. I wonder if people do it with characters in stories they write? If sitcom writers miss their characters when the shows go off the air?
Harry Potter! That's a good one. I miss those books, too. /nerd alert
Losing Oprah is like losing a rash. Just go Oprah....run if you can....we're really sick of your celebrity.
You are no God. Sure you have lots of money, and you do give to charity, but when you have shows about "items we can all afford", you prove that you neither know not understand who "all" of us are.
I, for one, am glad to see you go. You act like you are an expert at everything, when in fact you are an expert at very little. You dole out parental advice like you know what you're talkig about (which you don't).
Yes, you've done some good in the world, but have you ever heard that story about overstaying your welcome? Well, you overstayed for about 23 years.
If I see much of Oprah and her two year good bye, I am going to puke.
She has done more than good, but a Mother Theresa she isn't.
Get rid of her. She only cared about herself and made herself a billionaire.
Behold the "Church of Oprah"...
I'd just like to say that there's no reason for the ladies to be lonely in the wake of this latest calamity, and that I'll be doing my best to give them something to do with their afternoons.......
For the love of god, people. There will be life after Oprah. The sun will rise tomorrow. There's so much more to life than Oprah. Go for a walk, go visit someone in a nursing home who may not have much company, spend more time with your children, become involved in your community, read a book, take a class, etc.
I hear the frustrations in some of you on this blog..the hater's of Oprah, the sympathizers with those who will be lost without her. I only have one word about this article...SENSATIONALISM....That one trick will get us upset everytime...
Good riddance for God's sake, just move on for crying out loud. I hate it when this type of self gratification consumes all the daily news. Of all that is happening in the world today that is readily accessible because of all the modern technology to have all the major news outlets make this type of info front line news on a daily basis is so annoying. GET OPRAH!!!
Absolute nonsense. Oprah is a nice lady but thanks I have my own mind.
Oh, boo, hoo, get a freakin life!
When I read the title of this article I had such an unexpected burst of laughter that I actually blew bubbles.
Boo Hoo is right, I don't ever remember not shedding a tear or 2 because of something sad or happy, the show was always entertaining, educating & informative. Besides the women is an icon, a gift to the human race and what's she's done for the human race...she will be missed...my dvr will have plenty of space now.
When Oprah's show first started, it was a welcome change to all the pandering talk shows that catered to the disease of the week, the latest sexual scandals among "celebrities", etc. Her show was actually uplifting and somewhat informative...in the beginning. However, over time, Oprah's show began to mimic those that it replaced. In addition, Oprah simply became waaaay too impressed with herself and her wealth. It's rather insulting when a show's host takes people, many of whom are barely squeaking by in life, on tours of her California estate or Chicago penthouse with the attitude that this is how everyone lives, or makes frequent references to her ranch. Sure, it's her money and she can do with it whatever she chooses, but please show a little humility. Add to that the parade of disgusting celebrities and wannabee celebrities that Oprah interviewed who wanted nothing more than to kiss her a$$, not to mention her constant name-dropping. This ending is long overdue.
I agree. This whole goodbye thing is too long. But I guess after 25 years, you have to give the woman her due. She's been on TV for a quarter of a century! But don't worry; she'll probably start another show in a couple of years...
Please....Just shoot me now.
Let's get this thing over with and move on.
There are bigger issues in the world than getting sad/depressed over a TV show.
Nuff said.