The Creator, the Fan, & the Parasocial Predicament
It starts with watching a show, or stumbling across a content creator on social media that peaks your interest. From there, you want to learn more about the characters or person that you find most relatable to you. As you continue watching more and more, you start to develop a stronger interest and look forward to the next time you’re able to tune in.
Fully knowing these people know you don’t exist, you still feel like you know a thing or two about them.
Thus, leading to forming a parasocial relationship with them.
According to Dictionary.com, a parasocial relationship refers to a relationship that a person imagines having with another person whom they do not actually know, such as a celebrity, content creator ,or persona.
One person dedicates all their energy, time, interest, and sometimes money into the other person — who isn’t even aware of their existence.
These relationships tend to be more commonly seen with Twitch streamers, celebrities, bands, and just about any popular public figure you can think of. It’s formed through the connection and relatability that these creators show through their media that makes you feel as a fan as though you “really know them.”
This term has become quite the buzzword on the internet recently due to the recent scandal with Ned Fulmer from the YouTube channel called The Try Guys. Fulmer took over headlines on Sept. 27 when a video of Fulmer kissing 2nd Try associate producer Alexandria Herring went viral. This started waves of fans rushing to social media to comment on how shocked and hurt they felt after finding out the news. I recall that day no matter what platform you were on or who you spoke to, there was always going to be someone talking about it or somebody else making a comment wondering what the big deal was.
There was an obvious outpour of betrayal and hurt that could be seen from Try Guy fans that day. However, I think the reality of it was none of them actually knew either Ned, his wife, or anyone else who was directly involved.
It was absurd seeing the amount of reactions and buzz this created, but it sure made a lot of people wonder: why care in the first place?
Yes, even I’ve been distraught over a content creator being exposed as a horrible person. For me, it always creates a slurry of emotions, including wondering why I feel that way when I don’t even know the celebrity, while also still being upset that it happened.
Unfortunately, it is a type of relationship that anyone can easily find themselves in. With how easy it is to share glimpses into your life in any way you please on social media, it’s not surprising finding yourself thinking that the most relatable person in your life is that one TikToker who just rants about how work sucks everyday, or the streamer who plays Valorant and tells you what they had for breakfast.
As any other human being, I feel like we tend to try to find comfort with others, and once that’s found through media, we grasp onto it and try to cultivate it.
It’s that relatability and connection we search for to make us believe we aren’t alone.
Unfortunately, with how easily this relationship can form, some creators such as Jake Paul tend to test the boundary and blur the line between creator and fan. Jake Paul has become well known in the YouTube community by continually coercing his fans into buying merchandise, going to live tours, watching his pay-per-view boxing matches, and anything else he can manage to advertise.
There are other creators besides Paul that start to blur these lines by addressing their fans as “besties,” or coming up with a name for their fan bases to make the connection feel a little more personal.
The predicament with this is where fans start to think they are a part of that creator’s inner circle and believe that they truly know them like the back of their hand.
It starts to become invasive and downright weird, where stalking and obsessiveness come into play. When this starts to happen, it probably doesn’t hurt to put out a reality check that you are an absolute stranger to them.
Whether they are healthy or downright exploitative, parasocial relationships are something that have always been around for as long I can remember. It’s definitely something that you or a loved one can fall victim to, so remember that the people you watch on your screen aren’t actually your close personal friends.