Parasocial relationships

NockerJoe · 2022-03-02T19:14:52+00:00

Dude that's been the norm since like the 90's at least. Japanese female entertainers are often forbidden from having relationships to give fans the appearance they somehow have a shot, even if one of those fans actually does shoot their shot and it works it's still forbidden. You see this not only in Jpop, but also Kpop and a few other places too.

The whole idol industry is super fucked for that and a lot of other reasons. Most up and coming entertainers get pressed into doing softcore pornography(Gravure), or other sexually suggestive projects. There's zero job security and they can be fired at basically any time for any reason(See also Maki Itoh, who was told to personally sell 500 tickets in a night or lose her job, did it, then lost her job anyway). The whole Japanese entertainment industry basically owns it's people lock, stock, and barrel and will freely abuse and discard talent on a whim in a way even Hollywood never would, and the fandom for idols in japan is toxic in a way even the nastiest OnlyFans simp could never even imagine.

The only difference is that Japan has finally begun to catch on that they can do this to things like Vtubers. The japanese entertainment industry has had parasocial relationships on lock since before any of us were even alive and it's honestly bad enough that even Bill Cosby would blush.

painfurouartacc · 2022-03-02T19:28:25+00:00

the idol thing is a longpart tradition of east asia for whatever reason, even among k-pop guys let alone the females, i remember one idol guy fucking around and it became a scandal (as if k-pop guys literally aren't handpicked to make these girls horny lol, i-i like it for the music??!!!)

some say it's because idols are supposed to be idealized beyond normal humans, others theorize them being ''unattainable'' has nothing to do with values and is just a tactic for company owners to prey on consoomers.

also is mafu rushia's bf for real? i remember he said he didn't have an interest in romance somewhere? but oh well, i'm happy for him if it's true, i followed him, he has such an unique voice!

edit: oh no, they had to stop being friends because of toxic fanbases, as a weeb this is one of the stuff i find toxic from asian idol cultures..

cloudydays84 · 2022-03-02T19:31:55+00:00

It's definitely weird but not really anything new, idols and celebrities are suppose to curate an image to their audience that produces the most positive reaction.

Hell in the 60s, Cynthia Powell, John Lennon's first wife, was advised to keep her marriage and pregnancy under wraps by his manager because he felt like it would alienate their audience.

Or even earlier in the 50s, Elvis had a bunch of different photos circulating of him reading some of the fan mail and love letters he received.

Parasocial relationships are a marketing tactic that is just becoming more effective with the use of things like internet and social media.

Own-Boat-5374 · 2022-03-02T20:14:35+00:00

When a youtuber/streamer/whatever the fuck puts themself as "your x girlfriend" don't be shocked when you get parasocial viewers. You reap what you sow.

wtknight · 2022-03-02T19:04:54+00:00

Men who establish parasocial relationships with women whom they know are interacting with many other men are pathetic cucks. It shouldn’t even matter if that woman has a real life boyfriend or not. None of those men have a chance at attracting these women even if they are single. These men should be working on attracting women who might actually become attracted to them.

And don’t get me started on these guys spending money on these women.

Impossible_Ad7786 · 2022-03-02T20:33:47+00:00

I don't want to live on this planet anymore.

IcarusKiki · 2022-03-02T21:38:07+00:00

This has been a thing in Japan since the 80s - “idol culture” is very strange.

JameisBong · 2022-03-03T04:05:36+00:00

Female popstars do this too. It's been the norm for decades, more now because soy boys need a virtual waifu they can cling to

LittyKitsune · 2022-03-02T19:24:16+00:00

Reminds me of a huge scandal that happened when a j-pop star was caught leaving a guy's apartment.

Fans have been having these weird one-sided fantasy relationships long before vtubers and OF. It's one of the many difficulties of dating/being married to a hot famous person: harassment from crazy people who expect them to stay single forever apparently.

sanctix22 · 2022-03-02T19:48:12+00:00

God damn that shit is gay. People absorbed in the matrix. Modern epidemic.

mc0079 · 2022-03-02T18:57:13+00:00

I'm going to bet....much like mobile gaming...the industry is propped up by a few whales.

analt223 · 2022-03-02T23:46:48+00:00

This is everywhere now in the livestreaming era. Sad but true oh well

Emergency-Regret6974 · 2022-03-03T01:42:26+00:00

Well, when you're a creepy producer who doesn't care about art, you're basically on track to becoming some anorexic chick's e-pimp or driving some drug addict into an overdose.

Unfortunately fans of both sexes are evil. I remember how mad the supernatural fandom got about the actors having gfs.

Fandom is one of the worst social phenomenons.

Flightlessbirbz · 2022-03-03T03:14:36+00:00

While it’s no secret that online sex workers and entertainers will intentionally use parasocial relationships to get money by chatting with pretending to actually like their top sponsors, it still should be understood that this part of the FANTASY they are selling. If fans are digging around in her personal life, that’s their fault and totally inappropriate. She has a right to be upset.

This is also nothing new. Even some actors and musicians are told to hide relationships if their management thinks fans want to imagine they are single, and sometimes they are encouraged to HAVE relationships with costars and other famous people for promotional purposes as well. (Like Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart for example.) It’s weird and kind of disturbing, but that’s how it is.

SmarmyPapsmears · 2022-03-02T19:04:56+00:00

It's a Gen Z specific problem that will probably only get worse.

Matt_Door · 2022-03-02T21:16:59+00:00

Are they actually real women playing those girls? I assumed it was 40 year old horny otaku dudes larping for other 40 year old horny otaku dudes and while I’m pretty fucking weird, I’m not that fucking weird.

Mark_Freed · 2022-03-02T20:38:09+00:00

At least she didn’t have to shave her head

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-21299324

Pola_Lita · 2022-03-03T00:35:32+00:00

Weren't 1930's starlets unable to date as part of their contracts? At least the attractive ones? Or the teen idols in the 1950's?

My first thought would be this "catastrophe" with Rushia was planned by somebody but I'm always suspicious of public figures.

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yvaN_ehT_nioJ · 2022-03-03T04:09:31+00:00

As others have said, this has been the norm with Japanese female entertainers for awhile. NockerJoe already gave a good summation so I can't add anything there.

Taking your "virtual idols" and OF girls point, such parasocial relationships are definitely becoming more common in the west. I'd extend it past just those and to, well, any sort of streamer or podcaster really. These people release hours upon hours of content every year and you have people listening or watching to these individuals religiously. They begin to feel like they know these content creators because they're, in a sense, "with" these content creators for hours upon hours. These people are probably "with" these creators more than they are with their actual friends, possibly their own family, even. This is all the more heightened when they're able to communicate with them through things like tweets, superchats, DMs, etc.

We saw this reach new heights when the COVID lockdowns happened and millions of people were suddenly forced to stay home for months upon months. No coincidence that things like vtubers, e-girls, and what have you really started to enter the public conscience (online at least, if not irl) during this time.

Where it goes from here? I would like to say that as things open back up such things will decrease in popularity and usage, but I'm a boomer in Internet years so of course I'm not a big fan.

Fact is, these things are probably here to stay and I feel sadness for our society because this is likely due to them filling a deep void millions of people have for human connection and interaction. It looks like they are rising to fill a need that gets deeper and greater as people get more and more plugged into "life" online.

Smitten_Squire · 2022-03-04T03:35:06+00:00

That is the ultimate simpery lol. Damnnnnnn

Title	Parasocial relationships
Author	scwizard
Upvotes	28
Comments	56
Date	March 2, 2022 6:55 PM UTC (4 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/PurplePillDebate
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/PurplePillDebate/comments/t579wn/parasocial_relationships/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/PurplePillDebate/parasocial-relationships.1104460 https://theredarchive.com/post/1104460

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