Parasocial Relationships Mega-Thread

Mrs_Drgree · 2022-08-19T12:44:49+00:00

Honestly I don't see anything wrong with paying content creators who produce art that you enjoy. That's the whole point of becoming a patron after all. Fuck, when I'm at comicon I'll buy some original tacky shit I don't even like, just because I appreciate someone not doing zombie Captain America for the 600th time.

But I do think people need to be more aware and realistic about what that exchange means. Your literally just "supporting" the creator so they can continue doing what they are doing, your not buying their time or affection (unless that's part of the deal).

QuenchlessGato · 2022-08-19T09:01:34+00:00

Obviously, parasocial relationships are basically always inferior to actual relationships, and people in these paraships would prefer if this thing evolved into a real relationship. However, given how in these times forming actual relationships is getting harder or sometimes perhaps even borderline impossible (i.e. for cels) then these parasocial things are a good substitute that can imitate a real relationship to some degree.

Donating money to e-thots might seem as a waste of money at first, but if you consider that the alternatives are spending money on drugs or having zero relationships then it doesn't seem as bad. For some people this is the best they can do and very often it's not their fault.

hybridcbu · 2022-08-17T14:49:49+00:00

As long as you're not spending money consume all the content.

upalse · 2022-08-16T17:53:37+00:00

Who are you parasocially involved with?

I have sort of gay hots for certain popular vloggers now and then. I just copy their mannerisms and such, no way I'd actually send money or something, though.

Carloverguy20 · 2022-08-15T21:41:44+00:00

I don't have a huge problem with it, nothing wrong with supporting content creators, but as long as you are not donating $1000 for them to acknowledge you, your fine. As long as you see it as entertainment. I view OF, Twitch, Youtube, Patreon as entertainment and keep it at that.

Lots of manospherians have parasocial relationships with Andrew Tate, Kevin Samuels, Fresh and Fit too, it's not only Twitch and OF.

Another thing i've noticed that makes me annoyed is when the simps unfriend, unfollow and unsubscribe from a female content creator, because she has a partner or a kid irl. Thats pathetic imo, you know that she has a real life outside of this too, she's not really your girlfriend or your wife, get out your head with that.

Slipthe · 2022-08-15T17:05:28+00:00

Man I associate parasocial with John Mulaney given how people responded to his rehab, affair, divorce, and then accidental baby.

The pendulum swung to the point where any possible criticism of John Mulaney is now met with an accusation that you are in a parasocial relationship with him. It's ironic that the people most driven to defend him use the term as a way to dismiss.

Some people can't separate the art from the artist. When the art of your comedy is so closely tied to your life, your personality, your disposition, revealing deeply unsavory parts of yourself is going to affect the tone of your work.

wtknight · 2022-08-15T15:53:23+00:00

I'd never give a woman money unless I knew that she actually liked me. Too many men are too generous with their money when it comes to women.

There's nothing wrong with a parasocial relationship where a guy isn't giving a woman money, though. If some guy just wants to look at some influencer's Instagram account then that's not a big deal.

dbz19_kai · 2022-08-15T10:56:56+00:00

I have a parasocial relationship with a vtuber and I don't even try to hide it. It's fun and I like interacting with them.

urbangoth · 2022-08-15T06:41:27+00:00

I follow pretty ig girls with cool, monied lives. Like they go to tons of art museums and travel and aboard nonstop and have great taste in fashion and aesthetics. I like them more than anyone I know irl because they're cultured and educated, and everyone I'm immediately surrounded by in day-to-day life is essentially people who made really bad decisions in their 20s and are miserable and paying for it now in their middled-aged years; they're out of shape, uneducated, have no hobbies, may or may not have accidentally had children way too young, etc.

I only care to befriend people with common interests or aspirational lives, so I've actively denied irl friendships with anyone subpar because frankly I prefer to just look at these people online and engage in my very limited pool of me, my partner, maybe like one irl friend, and then colleagues from college or the side, remote work I do. I've tried to make friends but everyone is disappointing so I just let them go and phase them out.

I prefer these ig girls to irl people because most of those in my vicinity are, frankly, unambitious "losers" who messed up and refuse to get back up, as they'd rather play victim about everything from their health, relationships, careers, and families. It's pathetic, and I refuse to be sucked into their nonsense. You have to be responsible for your own happiness at some point.

Tried that Bumble BFF stuff and it was a bust because women don't reply and I'm not about to bust ass just to hang out with crystal-loving "wiccans" and pothead ravers or hippies. Or single moms. None of them are close to what I'm looking for so I'll just hold out until I move back to a city and then I'll really start working to build a group.

yvaN_ehT_nioJ · 2022-08-15T00:48:35+00:00

Any way for people to limit parasocial relationships in the age of social media?

Unironically, touch grass. Go outside, interact with people in real life. Age-old advice really. It's no joke that things like vtubers and livestreamers really took off when millions were forced into house arrest over the coof

BlackPorcelainDoll · 2022-08-14T21:10:46+00:00

Parasocial or mutualistic parasitism? 😉

FFTzzz · 2022-08-14T20:55:17+00:00

Everyone on PPD secretly wants to ride my magic wizard's staff. Alas I don't know who they are and can't possibly satisfy them all.

RepresentativeSwan1 · 2022-08-14T18:02:43+00:00

Who are you parasocially involved with?

I am in love with an OnlyFans girl I'm subscribed to. Does that count?

Netheral · 2022-08-14T13:05:21+00:00

Parasocial* relationships kinda fascinate me. I don't know if saying that it's entirely one way is accurate. Because the lives of the celebrity are also fucked to a certain extent. Mainly in how performative their whole lives become.

For instance Michael Reeves and LilyPichu. So much of their relationship is just broadcasted online through streams and vlogs and whathaveyou. And in every interaction you just have to wonder, how much of that was just done for the camera?

Michael does something funny but mildly annoying to Lily, and you have to wonder, is that their love language or is it done entirely for the spectacle? How much of it is merely being tolerated for the sake of content? How much does a relationship that is so open for the public to scrutinize hang in the balance every single day?

"You can't get mad at me for doing that because we literally rely on it to make a living"?

South Park had this angle of the parasocial relationships pretty nailed down. The celebrity barely gets to live as a person anymore, instead becoming a commodity.

hhhhhhikkmvjjhj · 2022-08-14T11:34:22+00:00

I live with a sex doll. It’s pretty good. I think a lot of lonely men would benefit from this solution. Some women too.

debatelord_1 · 2022-08-14T11:28:46+00:00

I've started to listen to girlfriend asmr roleplay channels.

It's probably not healthy, but it sure does feel good. And it helps me sleep.

Willow-girl · 2022-08-14T10:56:36+00:00

For a brief interval, the fictional takes precedence over the actual, as the actor be comes identified with the fictional role in the magic of the theatre. This glamorous confusion of identities is temporary: the worlds of fact and fiction meet only for the moment.

Unless you're Volodymyr Zelensky ...

Dutchmaster617 · 2022-08-14T10:22:49+00:00

The fucking irony of “Socializing online is a problem, join us on Discord!”

VastlyVainVanity · 2022-08-14T03:45:36+00:00

First of all, not all parasocial relationships are created equal, nor are they something that only started with the internet. I recommend anyone interested in parasocial relationships to read the original article of the guy who invented the term, it's pretty easy to read, and you can find it here.

Anyway, one thing I really dislike about streamer culture is how they get rich off of lonely fucks and then complain about those same lonely fucks creating parasocial relationships with the streamers.

An example are the Vtubers from Hololive who constantly put on an act like they're selling a "girlfriend experience". And then they're surprised when some guys start obsessing over them.

It's also interesting to note that it's an issue that primarily affects men. Of course women also have parasocial relationships, but I'm pretty sure that the majority of people affected are lonely men.

Even literal whores like Kaho Shibuya or Sasha Grey can start streaming and create a horde of simps who treat them like queens. Male loneliness is a bitch.

TheRedPillRipper · 2022-08-13T22:36:32+00:00

Any way for people to limit parasocial relationships

Self Discipline.

Godspeed and good luck!

byebyecivilrights · 2022-08-13T17:24:53+00:00

Didn't really have a problem with parasocial relationships until Covid, when I basically isolated for 2 years straight.

Now I work from home, haven't traveled to see my friends since before lockdown, and spend most of my time listening to podcasts and streamers during the day and watching youtube/tiktok videos at night. Yeah it's a problem. And I don't know how to fix it.

Lysa_Bell · 2022-08-13T16:55:03+00:00

Just don't let the line blur between online and IRL. Realise that you only see the best of someone online. They aren't real no matter how hard your belief them to be. They play a role.

poppy_blu · 2022-08-13T16:54:15+00:00

I think PPD spends far too much time pontificating about limiting other people’s relationships and choices and not enough time working on finding their own relationships.

Do I do everything I can to protect my son and teach him how to spot and avoid predatory women? Of course. Beyond that, I’m not sure where it’s my or any other woman’s job to police legal adult interactions. Particularly when the only reason it even comes up is that men who spend money on these chicks are mad at the chicks for making money instead of just practicing self restraint.

ExpensiveShoulder580 · 2022-08-13T16:54:08+00:00

This concept applies to everyone, not only simps, I realized that a major reason I didn't care about forming friendships was because I was always listening to podcasts or watching a pretty cool twitch streamer, which tricked my brain into thinking I have those awesome friends who are always have something interesting to say with minimal input from me.

It can be very entertaining but be careful of making it your main form of socialization.

Sad_Entertainer6312 · 2022-08-13T16:23:01+00:00

What is a parasocial relationship?

ExpensiveShoulder580 · 2022-08-13T16:17:13+00:00

Does anyone else think it is predatory for sex workers/female pornstars to use social sites like twitch to pray on young men? I think so and my rationale is that if you are a well-known pornstar and a child sees you one twitch they might look your name up and be led to your pornographic content and I think this is intentional on the adult performers' part because the more men addicted to porn means the more money they can get and targeting men young is really scummy in my eyes.

lostwanderer28 · 2022-08-13T16:15:36+00:00

First!

A question to get things started: What is a parasocial relationsip?

AutoModerator · 2022-08-13T16:00:11+00:00

Attention!

You can post off topic/jokes/puns as a comment to this Automoderator message.
For "CMV" and "Question for X" Threads: Parent comments that aren't from the target group will be removed, along with their child replies.
If you want to agree with OP instead of challenging their view or if the question is not targeted at you, post it as an answer to this comment.
OP you can choose your own flair according to these guidelines., just press Flair under your post!

Thanks for your cooperation and enjoy the discussion!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

Title	Parasocial Relationships Mega-Thread
Author	AutoModerator
Upvotes	24
Comments	107
Date	August 13, 2022 4:00 PM UTC (3 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/PurplePillDebate
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/PurplePillDebate/comments/wnhv9m/parasocial_relationships_megathread/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/PurplePillDebate/parasocial-relationships-mega-thread.1127450 https://theredarchive.com/post/1127450

Comments