Understanding Children’s Bonds with Voice Assistants: A Comparative Approach to Parasocial Relationships

As voice assistants (VAs) become more prevalent in children’s social environments, questions arise about whether children form social relationships with them, and if so, what characterizes these bonds. This study examined children’s relationships with VAs through the lens of parasocial relationships (PSRs). Differences and similarities between children’s PSR with VAs, cartoon characters, toys, and close friends were evaluated with a comparative design. 68 children aged 7 to 10 (Mage = 8.67, 33 girls) were asked to interact with a VA, and a PSR scale was used to measure the strength of PSR for VA, as well as for the other agents. Supporting our hypothesis, after a single interaction, children’s PSR with the VA was comparable to those with cartoon characters and toys, indicating that the relationship with VAs can be considered parasocial. Children’s perceptions of the VA’s agency, biological properties, and life attributions to the VA positively predicted stronger PSR, beyond their general tendency to anthropomorphize. These findings highlight the importance of how children interpret agent properties in forming social bonds and contribute to PSR literature by emphasizing VAs’ unique affordances, such as reciprocity and interactive features, in forming PSR.