You know their children’s names, their go-to breakfast and the story of their breakdown - but to them, you’re just another faceless follower. Sound familiar? Parasocial relationships have become part of life online - but what does it mean to be in one? And do they do more harm than good?
Everyone I follow is just a source of brain-droppings to me. I follow because their posts are informed and well written. I frequently have no idea who these people are nor do I care.
That’s why I’m entirely anonymous online. I am not looking for parasocial (or any kind of) relationships. Everyone’s words speak for themselves.
Everyone’s words speak for themselves.
Yes and not only that but we are different versions of ourselves in different contexts.
It is through the exploration of imperfect lenses of architected, artificially constructed human interaction that we can find parts of ourselves that would have otherwise been rendered invisible by our immediate social context where layers and layers of imposed narratives distort our perception of another person (including new versions of ourselves we are just now meeting) before a conversation has even begun.
I wish we could joyously celebrate in person interaction without succombing to the temptation to flatten the wonderful potential of interaction through digital avatars.
This is such a MagicShel thing to say 🥰
Yep. Even knowing it’s a joke, instant discomfort.
Is the point of parasocial relationships to know the person as you would know them socially though?
