I get where you're coming from. I watch lots of streamers and may refer to them as my friend just to myself but if I was to say anything about loving them I would say we rather than I as we're all part of that streamers community, I would say that we're here for them when they're going through a rough time for the same reason. I only ever called 1 streamer a friend and even at that, it was because I was going through some stuff and I could DM her on discord while I was in work if I needed someone to talk to and she said that she's there for me if I wanted to talk but I know it's just a sort of streamer/viewer sort of friendship and nothing more, she's just being friendly and caring towards someone in her community
For sure, and I think when you see someone enough and are involved in a community you do form that type of relationship. I’ve helped some of my viewers through dire times and while it’s stressful, I wouldn’t abandon them and at the very least try and direct them to some proper resources (I don’t want to inadvertently cause more harm than good truly!) I’ve also had some interactions where people have told me that they get upset when their favorite streamers are in relationships even though they know there was no chance of dating them themselves and that’s one extreme that I have a hard time wrapping my head around.
@@juunibug exactly. That streamer has a command in her chat and I often get a high result so it's led to a recurring joke in her stream, mainly between me and her. That one of getting upset about the streamer being married or in a relationship is crazy. When I join a stream, I don't automatically assume that the streamer is single but I don't try and flirt either as it can make some people uncomfortable and that's the last thing a streamer wants to feel in their own stream, and even when I find out that they're not single, I don't act any different as it shouldn't matter. You can find them attractive or whatever but that doesn't mean anything
The dependence on technology for bare essentials is becoming overwhelming, the fact that parasocial relations are becoming more common than traditional relations really marks the beginning of the end
I know I have a lot of good and true internet friendships but since getting into streaming and whatever, it’s harder to navigate. It’s a double edged sword of “it’s easier to meet people” and “it’s too easy to be accessible” sometimes and also, some people are way too comfortable on the internet and do things they would never IRL.
Parasocial Activity is scarier that Paranormal Activity, change my mind. Also maaan the internet makes this problem so much worse. You get to spend so much one-sided time with a content creator that it really feels to you that you know them, but it has to be a mutual thing. Even hanging out on discord or livestream chats doesn't equal the same "real" interactions you'd have in an offline environment. The line gets blurrier when you have someone nice who treats everyone like a friend, which makes it harder to differentiate between "oh, they're just a nice person" and "They're being nice TO ME." Not that that's the nice person's fault, I think it's a great attribute to have, but there's definitely a boundary issue there. There are also the creeps who are just using the relationship for their own gain, but that's not parasocial, it's a parasite. I err on the side of treating people like good acquaintances, still giving them their space and not presuming. I still treat em like a person, which is where a lot of parasocial relationships go wrong, and see where it goes from there. I think those two factors alone have let me become actually friendly with people, it's amazing how people respond to you giving them space and not being a creep. I have only given a VIP out to one person so far on twitch basically as a "I really trust you, but don't need another mod" kinda thing, but I doubt I'd give it out to people who aren't 100% to me. Also the point of buying friendship is super real. I've seen both in my experience and as a mod for others the entitlement that a $5 sub gives some people, let alone more. I totally get the idea of checking terms of endearment. I call everyone "friend" since that's just the default state to me, but I use it very loosely. Basically as a "friend until proven otherwise." I don't really have a name for people closer, I don't like saying "best friend" since it feels exclusionary. I feel like the types of interactions speak for themselves in terms of how close I consider someone to be to me. One thing the worries about being a parasocial friend has done for me, (aside from doubt literally every friendship i have online) is to make me think about how I interact with people, how they respond and reciprocate, and to really understand what the relationship is. I genuinely believe that I've built real friendships online, but can also see ones that are a lot more shallow and am ok with just being a face in the chat in those instances.
For sure to all these points. I have people call me friend and buddy when I don’t know them and I’ve had to point it out not because I’m mad but I want everyone to be on the same page so I can feel comfortable and others don’t feel led on because I would really not want to do that if it can be helped! Some of my friendships online are real and true and others I know I am just a fan and a viewer and that is okay with me. I want to support because I genuinely like the content and the person making it but don’t feel entitled to their friendship over subbing or leaving kind comments!
Not sure if it's entirely the same, (maybe a different side of the coin)but I know this one creator (I won't say who) that uses relationships within the community as a way to propel themselves forward in their career. Like, they meet someone popular one time, take a photo with them, and then go on social media to claim they're real good friends with said person and no one ever questions or corrects them. Not even the person they're using for clout. So now, they're suddenly friends with VA's, streamers, and gaming companies but you never see them actually talk to any of them. So in some ways there are people out there that will use these relationships in a malicious, self-serving way.
I knew someone personally that would brag about their friendships or connections in the industry and it was really uncomfortable. I’ve met voice actors at meet and greets and never felt like I’d want to intrude on them personally but some people will talk about how good friends they are after the fact. I think it’s unfortunately hard to bring up “hey we aren’t close like that” bc some people will react negatively and who knows what they’ll do online about it. Weirdly on the flip side, I’ve had some bigger content creators work with me or interact and they were genuinely nice and I’d have people asking me “how can I get them to notice me and follow me?” Like idk? :( I don’t do anything and if anything I get anxious they’ll think I’m being weird or have an ulterior motive so I just let things happen organically.
![[UNCUT] The Loyal Pin ปิ่นภักดิ์ EP.15 (3/4)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/IVwR87OH0_A/mqdefault.jpg)
I get where you're coming from. I watch lots of streamers and may refer to them as my friend just to myself but if I was to say anything about loving them I would say we rather than I as we're all part of that streamers community, I would say that we're here for them when they're going through a rough time for the same reason. I only ever called 1 streamer a friend and even at that, it was because I was going through some stuff and I could DM her on discord while I was in work if I needed someone to talk to and she said that she's there for me if I wanted to talk but I know it's just a sort of streamer/viewer sort of friendship and nothing more, she's just being friendly and caring towards someone in her community
For sure, and I think when you see someone enough and are involved in a community you do form that type of relationship. I’ve helped some of my viewers through dire times and while it’s stressful, I wouldn’t abandon them and at the very least try and direct them to some proper resources (I don’t want to inadvertently cause more harm than good truly!)
I’ve also had some interactions where people have told me that they get upset when their favorite streamers are in relationships even though they know there was no chance of dating them themselves and that’s one extreme that I have a hard time wrapping my head around.
@@juunibug exactly. That streamer has a command in her chat and I often get a high result so it's led to a recurring joke in her stream, mainly between me and her.
That one of getting upset about the streamer being married or in a relationship is crazy. When I join a stream, I don't automatically assume that the streamer is single but I don't try and flirt either as it can make some people uncomfortable and that's the last thing a streamer wants to feel in their own stream, and even when I find out that they're not single, I don't act any different as it shouldn't matter. You can find them attractive or whatever but that doesn't mean anything
The dependence on technology for bare essentials is becoming overwhelming, the fact that parasocial relations are becoming more common than traditional relations really marks the beginning of the end
I know I have a lot of good and true internet friendships but since getting into streaming and whatever, it’s harder to navigate. It’s a double edged sword of “it’s easier to meet people” and “it’s too easy to be accessible” sometimes and also, some people are way too comfortable on the internet and do things they would never IRL.
Parasocial Activity is scarier that Paranormal Activity, change my mind.
Also maaan the internet makes this problem so much worse. You get to spend so much one-sided time with a content creator that it really feels to you that you know them, but it has to be a mutual thing. Even hanging out on discord or livestream chats doesn't equal the same "real" interactions you'd have in an offline environment.
The line gets blurrier when you have someone nice who treats everyone like a friend, which makes it harder to differentiate between "oh, they're just a nice person" and "They're being nice TO ME." Not that that's the nice person's fault, I think it's a great attribute to have, but there's definitely a boundary issue there. There are also the creeps who are just using the relationship for their own gain, but that's not parasocial, it's a parasite.
I err on the side of treating people like good acquaintances, still giving them their space and not presuming. I still treat em like a person, which is where a lot of parasocial relationships go wrong, and see where it goes from there. I think those two factors alone have let me become actually friendly with people, it's amazing how people respond to you giving them space and not being a creep.
I have only given a VIP out to one person so far on twitch basically as a "I really trust you, but don't need another mod" kinda thing, but I doubt I'd give it out to people who aren't 100% to me.
Also the point of buying friendship is super real. I've seen both in my experience and as a mod for others the entitlement that a $5 sub gives some people, let alone more.
I totally get the idea of checking terms of endearment. I call everyone "friend" since that's just the default state to me, but I use it very loosely. Basically as a "friend until proven otherwise." I don't really have a name for people closer, I don't like saying "best friend" since it feels exclusionary. I feel like the types of interactions speak for themselves in terms of how close I consider someone to be to me.
One thing the worries about being a parasocial friend has done for me, (aside from doubt literally every friendship i have online) is to make me think about how I interact with people, how they respond and reciprocate, and to really understand what the relationship is. I genuinely believe that I've built real friendships online, but can also see ones that are a lot more shallow and am ok with just being a face in the chat in those instances.
For sure to all these points. I have people call me friend and buddy when I don’t know them and I’ve had to point it out not because I’m mad but I want everyone to be on the same page so I can feel comfortable and others don’t feel led on because I would really not want to do that if it can be helped!
Some of my friendships online are real and true and others I know I am just a fan and a viewer and that is okay with me. I want to support because I genuinely like the content and the person making it but don’t feel entitled to their friendship over subbing or leaving kind comments!
Not sure if it's entirely the same, (maybe a different side of the coin)but I know this one creator (I won't say who) that uses relationships within the community as a way to propel themselves forward in their career. Like, they meet someone popular one time, take a photo with them, and then go on social media to claim they're real good friends with said person and no one ever questions or corrects them. Not even the person they're using for clout. So now, they're suddenly friends with VA's, streamers, and gaming companies but you never see them actually talk to any of them. So in some ways there are people out there that will use these relationships in a malicious, self-serving way.
I knew someone personally that would brag about their friendships or connections in the industry and it was really uncomfortable. I’ve met voice actors at meet and greets and never felt like I’d want to intrude on them personally but some people will talk about how good friends they are after the fact. I think it’s unfortunately hard to bring up “hey we aren’t close like that” bc some people will react negatively and who knows what they’ll do online about it.
Weirdly on the flip side, I’ve had some bigger content creators work with me or interact and they were genuinely nice and I’d have people asking me “how can I get them to notice me and follow me?” Like idk? :( I don’t do anything and if anything I get anxious they’ll think I’m being weird or have an ulterior motive so I just let things happen organically.
I've seen too much gameplay of "Parasocial"