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I've heard of this phenomenon - it's called soulbonding, I think. Hopefully that will help narrow down your search, since I've never read an article about it anyplace.
I remember the Cracked article. It was 6 shocking ways TV rewires your brain. This was number 3. Sorry idk how to post a link or I would.
Oh, Witty Bubble has it, so I should be able to find it now. (Found it; it's called the social surrogacy hypothesis.)
(It's quite different from soulbonding, Eponymous Kid, but thanks for having a stab at it!)
Edited by apassingthought
Here's an odd one: I'm looking for an article. The article talked about how fictional characters may compensate for one's lack of real-life friends or social life, and went into how viewers/readers bond with characters and resulting emotional effects. It's not just identifying with them, but that people think of them as friends.
And I'm pretty sure this effect has been featured on a Cracked countdown before, but I can't seem to remember which article. I also think it might have had a page on The Other Wiki (or at least was mentioned as a subtopic).
Edited by apassingthought