At one point in this Shaaba said something and in my head I was like omf I love her and then had an existential crisis bc I could see myself doing exactly what they’re talking about
My ideal parasocial relationship? Feeling like I’m having some Homies over during quarantine but it’s just UA-cam videos from this circle of creators playing while I do homework
I would like to add that a lot neurodivergent ppl (autism/adhd, ect) form parasocial relationships because of our tendency to hyperfixate on certain things. Our brains don't produce enough serotonin so when we find something that gives us that happy chemical we latch onto it and a lot of times enter stage 2 where we want to know everything about that person, media, or thing and spend a lot of our time thinking or engaging with that thing; and that definitely includes celebrities and/or influencers
The line between healthy and unhealthy seems like This creator is great and watching their videos feels like I'm hanging with a friend vs. This is my friend. We are definitely friends
i think its difficult to understand when you aren't in that relationship. I experienced something similar recently - a band that i like had a member that passed away in 2017 - Now, ive only recently (in the last few months) started supporting and following them, and upon hearing about the member's death in a youtube video, and seeing all the comments from fans who were there when it happened - it struct me how greatly affected these people were, by the death of somebody they've probably never met. what's even stranger though is how as the weeks have gone by, and as i see old footage on youtube/social media OF the late band member - i'm also feeling a strange sort of... weak grief i suppose. which is incredibly odd, since i never knew the guy, nor did i know he even existed for years after his death. perhaps its just due to how upsetting a topic death is, but im often on the verge of tears when i hear/see about his death. its incredibly strange
Corry: mentions Brecht Me (an English student with a minor in drama studies): *trauma flashbacks* But the suspension of disbelief is definitely a powerful thing
So interesting to hear Shaaba talking about her research, I found this group of creators through Noah and I never realised how interesting all of their, particularly, Shaaba's background away from you tube is :)
With the beautyvlogger/makeup study, I think that's not testing parasocial relationships well. Like, if somebody's job is to use makeup, I'm more likely to trust their review of makeup even if I dont have a parasocial relationship with them. I'm just trusting their expertise. If a podcaster (bc podcasters dont necessarily show their face) who talked about something totally different in their podcast told me to try a makeup product and I did so, that might be a parasocial relationship bc even tho that person has no expertise I listen to their advice as if they were a friend
I'm in love with this lineup!!! BTW, the question is super relevant. It took me 2 weeks to explain my son that the ornitologist (she shoots videos about her owls) that we are following will not let us visit her house. 😊
This is very weird to watch after the end of Unus Annus, especially concidering that Mark and Ethan started out as a parasocial relationship. In case of people not knowing: Unus Annus was Markiplier's and CrankGamePlays' (Ethan's) shared UA-cam channel. They uploaded for every day a year and then deleted the channel before it's first birthday live on air. People, of course, started forming a strong parasocial relationship with Mark and Ethan especially since they were uploading every single day and since the content felt very personal (Vlog type stuff of them doing something). The aftermath of the channel being deleted was devestating. Mark and Ethan and the videos on their own channel were still there. But yet people were devestated by their shared channel being gone because they were so emotionally contected to it. Also, Ethan started out as a fan of Mark and then they ended up as friends. Parasocial relationship turned interpersonal. Then Ethan becoming a parasocial relation to others.All very interesting.
One thing I've noticed since March is that because I've been lonely as hell, all I want to do is watch UA-cam videos but specifically ones where they talk to the camera. I can't even listen to music or watch videos that don't have a person that's talking about their life or their thoughts or something. I thought it was weird but I guess it's because I'm missing out on real life social relationships so I'm replacing them with parasocial connections. I'm especially drawn to Evan's videos for some reason, maybe they're just super conversation-like
Regarding Eugenia Cooney: she did not go to treatment b/c of the intervention of her audience. Her friends called emergency services out of concern for her situation, and based on her condition, she was mandated by the authorities to attend treatment. She’s out of treatment now and has basically returned to her pre-treatment weight. That’s not to say that I think the people who were expressing concern were necessarily in the wrong, just that that wasn’t what resulted in her getting treatment, and it definitely didn’t save her because she’s still not doing well. I don’t really think it’s an effective means of trying to help someone.
Being in quite a few fandoms myself, I can't help but think of parasocial relationships from that perspective so this whole episode really got me thinking about FanFiction. Like, Corry said at the begining of the episode how an essential characteristic of parasocial relationships is the fact that it is controlled by one side, the content creator's side, but FanFiction kinda subverts that logic. Of course the stories are, at least to some extent, based on what the creator has decided to show and have little to nothing to do with the creator so the one sided factor still stands, but besides that, the fandom has complete control of what happens in FanFiction, or alternatively, in headcannons that sometimes become common sense within said fandom. So, in that case, the parasocial relationship is deepened by the receiver themself without the creator's intervention and that can mean *a lot* of things both good and bad and wow I might just have to research that myself somehow. Anyways, thanks for this episode, it was so interesting!
I used to write fanfiction. I did it because I had ideas for possible stories/episodes that had more to do with the premise/setting of the show than with how I felt towards specific characters. I always found character and celebrity worship disturbing
I'm 14 minutes in, but I wanna share my experience. I like these types of videos, when people talking to each other and not directly to me. I think it's because of my social and general anxiety. I can zone out and not pay attention for a while and not be in trouble for not listening. When Cory looked directly into camera I felt so uncomfortable. But it's not his fault ofc. It's interesting that I don't have that connection with real people, but I had those with book characters. Edit: oh my gosh Shaaba was right about Voldemort.
Corry: * Looks right at the camera and says “you” * Me, someone who already perfectly knew what a parasocial relationship was: 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺m-m-m-m-me?? 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺
its like how on facebook if youre scrolling through recommended friends you can always see like a quarter of the photo of the next profile, so your mind wants to see the whole picture, so you keep swiping when you usually would have stopped. i hate that
Really interesting episode, I’d never heard the term parasocial relationships before and I have experienced getting way too obsessed with people online/celebrities before, maybe because I struggle with making friends, not sure the exact reason but it’s good to know the name for it.
I just started watching some of these podcasts when they see suggested because I watch Noah’s channel, I absolutely love how Corey like, reads up about the topics beforehand and then ‘teaches’ the other people but there is open discussion and questions throughout the video. I wish school was taught similar to this.
An English TV set is homely feeling but if you look at the USA is very big and Americans have a formal interaction with each other where wee English people has a very sweet feeling which makes you feel homely as a generalisation.
I find that when advertising uses that whole ‘we are just like you, we understand you’ it crosses a line I don’t think we as humans should cross. I know all forms of advertising are inherently manipulative, but when it gets to the point where they are literally saying that they know you, it bothers me. This may not be parasocial in the way we tend to use the term but it’s related. Most ads appeal to either children or vulnerable adults and that’s just wrong
This is so interesting. I cried when I watched Emily Norris do her last house tour before they bought the new house. I've watched her for 4.5 years, seen them renovate the house, her homebirth and even weird things like she'll mention I bought this cleaning product because you know how hard my sink is to clean, and I'm like "yeah, I do know, I've watched your last 50 cleaning videos" but I couldn't tell you a damn a thing about my own sink!!!! Wow mind blown. Brilliant episode x
I cried on off for a week when Heath Ledger died. I sat on the bus to work when I heard it on the bus radio and it broke my heart. I had to walk slowly to work from the bus stop to gather myself.
With the way the stages were described, it seems like a massive gap between stages 1 and 2. I would probably say most of my parasocial relationships are somewhere in between. Like I see people as more than just gossip and entertainment, but I’m not overly interested in their personal lives or thinking we’re soul mates or anything. When I think of parasocial relationships I think of people where I have this sense that I genuinely like them as a person, I enjoy their personality, and - this last part’s harder to describe - things that they’ve said seem to take up the same sort of place in my memory as conversations I’ve had in real life. Like I’ll have this instinctive sort of “oh someone was just telling me about that” sort of thought before I even register where it came from and realize it was just a UA-camr I don’t know.
Yeah same. I don’t think I have ever hit stage 2 but stage 1 could just be any person I have watched more than once and it’s still supposed to go all the way up to serious fangirling?
Loved the episode! Shaaba was great. I think people should not comment on peoples weight or the way they look, even if you mean well. It doesn't matter if they're your friends or celebrities. It's just never actually helpful. It just makes people self-conscious and they probably already know their weight and what they look like.
Such an interesting episode. Made me think about my parasocial relationships & interactions over my life (I'm 41) and how the nature of them has changed over time 🤔 Very thought provoking and insightful thank you.
@@juanitacarrollyoung2979 you shouldn't feel guilty about the age difference. Do we ever actually grow up? I still feel 19 in my mind. Maybe it's because at 41, I still don't feel like I have my sh*t together 🤷♀️
Shaba brought up Trump having a significant leg up as a politician because he was a TV personality originally, and that has reminded me of all the politicians in California who were originally actors (or at least Reagan and Schwarzenegger). Suggests that California ain’t actually that unique except that all the actors live there.
14:12 wait what's interesting is that German youtubers generally tend to use the plural you when addressing their audience (so basically like saying "you all" or "you guys"), not the singular you, so not technically one specific person. Do you think that would make a difference? (I'm sure youtubers who speak other languages also do this, I just happen to be German)
I don’t watch a lot of Swedish youtubers but I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone address their audience using singular. Very few of our greeting phrases involve pronouns so it would sound forced to specifically use singular “you”. The only one I can think of is “see you” which is basically “we will see each other” in Swedish, but in English you can greet someone by asking how they are/about their day (which are both incredibly weird ways to say hi) or saying it’s nice to meet them and “thank you” is explicitly directed at the person you’re talking to. So idk English is in many ways more directed at the other person. I do think that makes a difference but I have no idea how big that difference would be because, as Shaaba said, eye contact and gestures and stuff also affect that.
I feel like one of the reasons UA-camrs greet their audience with something unique other than the word ‘friends’. Like Jammidogger says ‘spuds’, Scott Cramer says ‘Strugglers’, Kurtis Conner says ‘folks’ and ‘citizens of Kuristown’, and One Topic at a Time says ‘beardos and weirdos’. Even though those have their own backstories I still think about this
this episode is so interesting! literally anyone can relate to this so very well targeted ;) thinking prompt: in my opinion, it’s really something how very judgemental and hypocritical some people can be towards those who outwardly show interest in people of which their in parasocial relationships with, when forming them (to a certain degree) is practically unavoidable for everyone. an example of this is issues surrounding stan culture and the stereotype of fans overstepping boundaries. this just isn’t the case most of the time. this observation of people’s reactions has lead to my fear of being disliked for putting my time into relationships which aren’t interpersonal which has honestly left me feeling wary about how much i give away about my interests to people both online and in “real life”. in conclusion, all humans are confusing and i can’t decide whether or not self awareness is optimal!! :/
I actually did a video on this topic back in 2014, I think parasocial relationships have definitely increased with the onset of the internet and social media. I think they are stronger with social media influencers rather than with celebrities from other forms of media like tv and movies. It's particularly true for family vloggers, the viewers are seeing parts of the vloggers life that typically only friends and family would see, it doesn't help when the vlogger then refers to the viewers as family which is something I see a lot or, or simply even talking to the viewers like they would talk to a friend, saying something like "you know me... I wouldn't do/say/like that". There is nothing wrong with trying to form strong connections with viewers but you should be aware that it is a parasocial connection, while it doesn't excuse the viewer when they cross boundaries, you at least understand the one-sided nature of the influencer/viewer relationship is a factor in it. Everyone forms these relationships... even with this video alone, I've formed one with Shaaba's cat sitting in the back looking all adorable.
anyone else be like “oh yep, stage one is definitely [x], [y], and maybe [z]” “yeah i’m probably at stage two with [character].... definitely at that point with [celebrity] for a while”
.. as I type you're talking about social media being designed to be addictive but this is actually true in the pre digital world also (think marketing cigarettes ... promoted by doctors in product ads in the 50's ....). It seems we just have better tech to do the same job ... the underlying intent has not changed (marketing) but our ability to access consumers has exponentially improved via tech improvements in conjunction with a better understanding of human psychology ... really enjoying your podcast.
This is immensely interesting and so relevant for my 2020 year.. I really wish I had friends I could discuss this with, because I see so many dangerously negative and at the same time hugely positive things about it. In my own life as well.. A small piece of mind: Isn't this all very connected to having idols? And having a good idol, again, can be a big help in your life, right? Also, most of the attributes you listed about parasocial relationships are also true for every relationship, I think. Like, relationships can always be uneven and both sides have the power to abuse it or manipulate the other person. That's probably why we all fall so easily into parasocial relationships, because, at least from our point of view, it's so similar to an interpersonal one. Anyway, I'm kinda proud to have rather wholesome internet-idols and yes, I love them. In a way🙃
I literally made scrap books about avril lavigne and mcfly when i was pre teen/teen. And had posters of mcfly over all 4 walls of my room. I am grateful social media wasnt as good back then because it definitely wouldve made me worse :/ even these days at the age of 28 i feel some aspects of this with favourite singers or youtubers that i watch regularly. Obviously i understand the concept of para social relationships and ensure its not affecting me negatively.. but i find myself talking about a youtube just by their first name to my partner, almost like talking about a friend. And it's easy to have thoughts to be like oh i wonder where they live and whether i could bump into them... and that's when it gets weird because people less aware of the situation than me could have similar thoughts and try and play them out. One of the youtubers i follow recently tweeted something along the lines of "i'm glad you guys like my content, but please don't send stuff to my home address, it isn't public knowledge and it makes me feel extremely uncomfortable". Like damn, he shouldnt have to say it, but honestly this is probably someone doesnt realise how scary what they did was.
No, Corry, don't hate left handed people!! There's nothing wrong with being left handed. (Sorry for misunderstanding you if you were sarcastic about hating left handed people. I'm not always good at noticing when people are being sarcastic). Great podcast episode by the way, everyone. 👍
Really interesting! I have a question about podcasting and parasocial relationships because when listening to a podcast you don’t (typically) see the person you form a parasocial relationship and I was just wondering what affect that might have on the parasocial relationship?
Guilty as charged! Leave it to Shaaba to bring in the positivity though, honestly that girl could sell me oxygen and I'd say shut up and take my money lol. I have noticed Noah do a good job on his socials advising his fans he is not a professional and that they shouldnt lay that heavy shit on him which I think is totally fair.
I was definitely listening to what was being said in the episode, however, every time the shot switched to showing Shaaba i was paying lots of attention to Apollo in the background on Jamie's chair
This video is very relevant currently with the death of Queen Elizabeth II (R.I.P). Lots of people around the world follow the royal family very closely and have spent their whole life knowing her as the queen. Its very interesting to see how affected people are by her death and I think its a great example of a large-scale parasocial relationship!
Alternate title: Noah becomes increasingly more terrified as he discovers how attached his audience is to him
NO REALLY
Thank you for having me! Such a fun conversation 😊💛
Ur so cool and smart
i recently read your thesis and i loved it like wow, and i immediately went online to find out more so im so glad i found this podcast.
I saw Shaaba and Noah in the thumbnail so I instantly clicked!
My reaction was “Noah AND Shaaba!? Yay I love them both, perfect crossover!” And then I saw the title and felt called out
Marvel: We have the most ambitious crossover ever!
Sci Guys: *presses down sunglasses*
At one point in this Shaaba said something and in my head I was like omf I love her and then had an existential crisis bc I could see myself doing exactly what they’re talking about
I did the same with Corry!
love how Shaaba took Lukes place in spoiling Corry's next point
There’s always one!
My ideal parasocial relationship? Feeling like I’m having some Homies over during quarantine but it’s just UA-cam videos from this circle of creators playing while I do homework
no one:
not even a fly:
Noah: B I S E K U A L
I feel simultaneously attacked and educated... It's like I've just been cancelled
Great podcast 👍✌
I would like to add that a lot neurodivergent ppl (autism/adhd, ect) form parasocial relationships because of our tendency to hyperfixate on certain things. Our brains don't produce enough serotonin so when we find something that gives us that happy chemical we latch onto it and a lot of times enter stage 2 where we want to know everything about that person, media, or thing and spend a lot of our time thinking or engaging with that thing; and that definitely includes celebrities and/or influencers
yep i'm autistic and can definitely relate :)
definitely!
Corry doing a 4th wall break made me feel way too seen 😂
Me too! It made his point really well!
The line between healthy and unhealthy seems like
This creator is great and watching their videos feels like I'm hanging with a friend vs. This is my friend. We are definitely friends
"They are very stupid, and by they I mean we...I was one of them" I felt that XD
When Anthony Bourdain died I had a line cook who had to take 3 days off because he didn't know how to process it. I was very confused for him.
i think its difficult to understand when you aren't in that relationship. I experienced something similar recently - a band that i like had a member that passed away in 2017 - Now, ive only recently (in the last few months) started supporting and following them, and upon hearing about the member's death in a youtube video, and seeing all the comments from fans who were there when it happened - it struct me how greatly affected these people were, by the death of somebody they've probably never met. what's even stranger though is how as the weeks have gone by, and as i see old footage on youtube/social media OF the late band member - i'm also feeling a strange sort of... weak grief i suppose. which is incredibly odd, since i never knew the guy, nor did i know he even existed for years after his death. perhaps its just due to how upsetting a topic death is, but im often on the verge of tears when i hear/see about his death. its incredibly strange
this was so interesting!!
Hi vegard🖐🖐
Corry: mentions Brecht
Me (an English student with a minor in drama studies): *trauma flashbacks*
But the suspension of disbelief is definitely a powerful thing
So interesting to hear Shaaba talking about her research, I found this group of creators through Noah and I never realised how interesting all of their, particularly, Shaaba's background away from you tube is :)
I could stand to be in a parasocial relationship with that fluffy cat in Shaaba's background. That cat will never break my heart.
With the beautyvlogger/makeup study, I think that's not testing parasocial relationships well. Like, if somebody's job is to use makeup, I'm more likely to trust their review of makeup even if I dont have a parasocial relationship with them. I'm just trusting their expertise.
If a podcaster (bc podcasters dont necessarily show their face) who talked about something totally different in their podcast told me to try a makeup product and I did so, that might be a parasocial relationship bc even tho that person has no expertise I listen to their advice as if they were a friend
OH! you're so right!
I love the one topic plushie just chillin in the background of Shaaba’s set up
I'm in love with this lineup!!!
BTW, the question is super relevant. It took me 2 weeks to explain my son that the ornitologist (she shoots videos about her owls) that we are following will not let us visit her house. 😊
me just watching shaabas cat the entire episode:]]
This is very weird to watch after the end of Unus Annus, especially concidering that Mark and Ethan started out as a parasocial relationship.
In case of people not knowing: Unus Annus was Markiplier's and CrankGamePlays' (Ethan's) shared UA-cam channel. They uploaded for every day a year and then deleted the channel before it's first birthday live on air.
People, of course, started forming a strong parasocial relationship with Mark and Ethan especially since they were uploading every single day and since the content felt very personal (Vlog type stuff of them doing something). The aftermath of the channel being deleted was devestating. Mark and Ethan and the videos on their own channel were still there. But yet people were devestated by their shared channel being gone because they were so emotionally contected to it.
Also, Ethan started out as a fan of Mark and then they ended up as friends. Parasocial relationship turned interpersonal. Then Ethan becoming a parasocial relation to others.All very interesting.
sweet peas/spuds know that yellow chair in shaaba’s background
One thing I've noticed since March is that because I've been lonely as hell, all I want to do is watch UA-cam videos but specifically ones where they talk to the camera. I can't even listen to music or watch videos that don't have a person that's talking about their life or their thoughts or something.
I thought it was weird but I guess it's because I'm missing out on real life social relationships so I'm replacing them with parasocial connections. I'm especially drawn to Evan's videos for some reason, maybe they're just super conversation-like
saame!
Regarding Eugenia Cooney: she did not go to treatment b/c of the intervention of her audience. Her friends called emergency services out of concern for her situation, and based on her condition, she was mandated by the authorities to attend treatment. She’s out of treatment now and has basically returned to her pre-treatment weight.
That’s not to say that I think the people who were expressing concern were necessarily in the wrong, just that that wasn’t what resulted in her getting treatment, and it definitely didn’t save her because she’s still not doing well. I don’t really think it’s an effective means of trying to help someone.
I feel so called out by this episode 😂😭 great combo of guests btw!
Being in quite a few fandoms myself, I can't help but think of parasocial relationships from that perspective so this whole episode really got me thinking about FanFiction. Like, Corry said at the begining of the episode how an essential characteristic of parasocial relationships is the fact that it is controlled by one side, the content creator's side, but FanFiction kinda subverts that logic. Of course the stories are, at least to some extent, based on what the creator has decided to show and have little to nothing to do with the creator so the one sided factor still stands, but besides that, the fandom has complete control of what happens in FanFiction, or alternatively, in headcannons that sometimes become common sense within said fandom. So, in that case, the parasocial relationship is deepened by the receiver themself without the creator's intervention and that can mean *a lot* of things both good and bad and wow I might just have to research that myself somehow. Anyways, thanks for this episode, it was so interesting!
I used to write fanfiction. I did it because I had ideas for possible stories/episodes that had more to do with the premise/setting of the show than with how I felt towards specific characters.
I always found character and celebrity worship disturbing
I'm 14 minutes in, but I wanna share my experience. I like these types of videos, when people talking to each other and not directly to me. I think it's because of my social and general anxiety. I can zone out and not pay attention for a while and not be in trouble for not listening. When Cory looked directly into camera I felt so uncomfortable. But it's not his fault ofc.
It's interesting that I don't have that connection with real people, but I had those with book characters.
Edit: oh my gosh Shaaba was right about Voldemort.
i feel very similar to you! its so much less stressful being part of a one-sided conversation compared to an irl one
Alex Trebek- in the US he came into our homes at dinner time for many years. We loved him. His passing has affected many Americans strongly.
I think I have parasocial relationships with my own characters, I daydream so much at night and it's like watching a film in my head lol
Corry: * Looks right at the camera and says “you” *
Me, someone who already perfectly knew what a parasocial relationship was: 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺m-m-m-m-me?? 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺
Yes, you
its like how on facebook if youre scrolling through recommended friends you can always see like a quarter of the photo of the next profile, so your mind wants to see the whole picture, so you keep swiping when you usually would have stopped. i hate that
If I want to leave and I encounter this, my solution is to do a super fast scroll through all the profiles before leaving hahahaha hope it helps (?)
Really interesting episode, I’d never heard the term parasocial relationships before and I have experienced getting way too obsessed with people online/celebrities before, maybe because I struggle with making friends, not sure the exact reason but it’s good to know the name for it.
I just started watching some of these podcasts when they see suggested because I watch Noah’s channel, I absolutely love how Corey like, reads up about the topics beforehand and then ‘teaches’ the other people but there is open discussion and questions throughout the video. I wish school was taught similar to this.
An English TV set is homely feeling but if you look at the USA is very big and Americans have a formal interaction with each other where wee English people has a very sweet feeling which makes you feel homely as a generalisation.
shaaba is that a one topic plushieeeee
yesss i saw it too ;)
Great episode. I loved how this one turned into more of a conversation at the end
Me to all of them after this: I know that we don't know each other but I love all of you from a respectful distance
Nice haha
I find that when advertising uses that whole ‘we are just like you, we understand you’ it crosses a line I don’t think we as humans should cross. I know all forms of advertising are inherently manipulative, but when it gets to the point where they are literally saying that they know you, it bothers me. This may not be parasocial in the way we tend to use the term but it’s related. Most ads appeal to either children or vulnerable adults and that’s just wrong
This is so interesting. I cried when I watched Emily Norris do her last house tour before they bought the new house. I've watched her for 4.5 years, seen them renovate the house, her homebirth and even weird things like she'll mention I bought this cleaning product because you know how hard my sink is to clean, and I'm like "yeah, I do know, I've watched your last 50 cleaning videos" but I couldn't tell you a damn a thing about my own sink!!!! Wow mind blown. Brilliant episode x
Radio was the first medium, before tv that started developing parasocial relationships
That'll be books lol. People were obsessing over book characters before radio existed.
I cried on off for a week when Heath Ledger died. I sat on the bus to work when I heard it on the bus radio and it broke my heart. I had to walk slowly to work from the bus stop to gather myself.
I love that Jamie and Shaaba have a onetopic plushie
This kind of stuff is fascinating, occasionally terrifying, but fascinating.
With the way the stages were described, it seems like a massive gap between stages 1 and 2. I would probably say most of my parasocial relationships are somewhere in between. Like I see people as more than just gossip and entertainment, but I’m not overly interested in their personal lives or thinking we’re soul mates or anything.
When I think of parasocial relationships I think of people where I have this sense that I genuinely like them as a person, I enjoy their personality, and - this last part’s harder to describe - things that they’ve said seem to take up the same sort of place in my memory as conversations I’ve had in real life. Like I’ll have this instinctive sort of “oh someone was just telling me about that” sort of thought before I even register where it came from and realize it was just a UA-camr I don’t know.
Yeah same. I don’t think I have ever hit stage 2 but stage 1 could just be any person I have watched more than once and it’s still supposed to go all the way up to serious fangirling?
Yes yes yes this!!
Loved the episode! Shaaba was great. I think people should not comment on peoples weight or the way they look, even if you mean well. It doesn't matter if they're your friends or celebrities. It's just never actually helpful. It just makes people self-conscious and they probably already know their weight and what they look like.
I full on cried when David Bowie died even though I never met him
Year 12 drama kids:"Bertolt Brecht" Normal people:"what does that mean?" BAHAHA
Sci guys: *Listing examples of parasocial relationships*
Everyone a month ago: RIP Unus Annus! Memento Mori!
Always love an episode with Noah in it! Makes everything more interesting
Gary the pencil made me remember I cried when Tom Hanks lost Wilson (the volleyball ball) in that movie. I felt that
Such an interesting episode. Made me think about my parasocial relationships & interactions over my life (I'm 41) and how the nature of them has changed over time 🤔 Very thought provoking and insightful thank you.
For me, at 57, there is a certain amount of guilt that most of the UA-camrs I subscribe to are approximately half my age 😳
@@juanitacarrollyoung2979 you shouldn't feel guilty about the age difference. Do we ever actually grow up? I still feel 19 in my mind. Maybe it's because at 41, I still don't feel like I have my sh*t together 🤷♀️
Rly fucked with me when Corry spoke directly into the camera, somehow it’s fine on his channel but on sciguys it’s just weird
Shaba brought up Trump having a significant leg up as a politician because he was a TV personality originally, and that has reminded me of all the politicians in California who were originally actors (or at least Reagan and Schwarzenegger). Suggests that California ain’t actually that unique except that all the actors live there.
This is a great video. I don't like the parasocial relationships between fans and anime dub voice actors. I wish you looked into that.
14:12 wait what's interesting is that German youtubers generally tend to use the plural you when addressing their audience (so basically like saying "you all" or "you guys"), not the singular you, so not technically one specific person. Do you think that would make a difference? (I'm sure youtubers who speak other languages also do this, I just happen to be German)
I don’t watch a lot of Swedish youtubers but I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone address their audience using singular. Very few of our greeting phrases involve pronouns so it would sound forced to specifically use singular “you”. The only one I can think of is “see you” which is basically “we will see each other” in Swedish, but in English you can greet someone by asking how they are/about their day (which are both incredibly weird ways to say hi) or saying it’s nice to meet them and “thank you” is explicitly directed at the person you’re talking to. So idk English is in many ways more directed at the other person.
I do think that makes a difference but I have no idea how big that difference would be because, as Shaaba said, eye contact and gestures and stuff also affect that.
Didn’t mean for that to get so long 😂 also did you mean 14.02 or something because 14.12 is just a little off 😊
I feel like it would definitely affect, but still would have to be tested 🤔🤔🤔
I feel like one of the reasons UA-camrs greet their audience with something unique other than the word ‘friends’. Like Jammidogger says ‘spuds’, Scott Cramer says ‘Strugglers’, Kurtis Conner says ‘folks’ and ‘citizens of Kuristown’, and One Topic at a Time says ‘beardos and weirdos’. Even though those have their own backstories I still think about this
this episode is so interesting! literally anyone can relate to this so very well targeted ;)
thinking prompt:
in my opinion, it’s really something how very judgemental and hypocritical some people can be towards those who outwardly show interest in people of which their in parasocial relationships with, when forming them (to a certain degree) is practically unavoidable for everyone. an example of this is issues surrounding stan culture and the stereotype of fans overstepping boundaries. this just isn’t the case most of the time. this observation of people’s reactions has lead to my fear of being disliked for putting my time into relationships which aren’t interpersonal which has honestly left me feeling wary about how much i give away about my interests to people both online and in “real life”.
in conclusion, all humans are confusing and i can’t decide whether or not self awareness is optimal!! :/
Love the conclusion and definitely agree lol
Shabaaaaaaaaa
One of my favorite Sci Guys episodes! Very interesting, made me think quite a bit about my own experiences. Thanks!
This made me feel so much better about crying so much over books, shows, and plays.
"They are very stupid....and by they I mean we....I was one of them" 😂😂😂
30:45
I actually did a video on this topic back in 2014, I think parasocial relationships have definitely increased with the onset of the internet and social media. I think they are stronger with social media influencers rather than with celebrities from other forms of media like tv and movies.
It's particularly true for family vloggers, the viewers are seeing parts of the vloggers life that typically only friends and family would see, it doesn't help when the vlogger then refers to the viewers as family which is something I see a lot or, or simply even talking to the viewers like they would talk to a friend, saying something like "you know me... I wouldn't do/say/like that".
There is nothing wrong with trying to form strong connections with viewers but you should be aware that it is a parasocial connection, while it doesn't excuse the viewer when they cross boundaries, you at least understand the one-sided nature of the influencer/viewer relationship is a factor in it.
Everyone forms these relationships... even with this video alone, I've formed one with Shaaba's cat sitting in the back looking all adorable.
shaaba is so lovely
True
Yay shaba 😍 much love from a patreon 💜
anyone else be like “oh yep, stage one is definitely [x], [y], and maybe [z]” “yeah i’m probably at stage two with [character].... definitely at that point with [celebrity] for a while”
ah yes lonly quarantine me stuck on youtube with the "friends" that dont go away
very true
i miss people
i love how thought provoking this is - however layered it may be :)
.. as I type you're talking about social media being designed to be addictive but this is actually true in the pre digital world also (think marketing cigarettes ... promoted by doctors in product ads in the 50's ....). It seems we just have better tech to do the same job ... the underlying intent has not changed (marketing) but our ability to access consumers has exponentially improved via tech improvements in conjunction with a better understanding of human psychology ... really enjoying your podcast.
not everyone has Disney plus _Corry_
This is immensely interesting and so relevant for my 2020 year..
I really wish I had friends I could discuss this with, because I see so many dangerously negative and at the same time hugely positive things about it. In my own life as well..
A small piece of mind:
Isn't this all very connected to having idols? And having a good idol, again, can be a big help in your life, right?
Also, most of the attributes you listed about parasocial relationships are also true for every relationship, I think. Like, relationships can always be uneven and both sides have the power to abuse it or manipulate the other person. That's probably why we all fall so easily into parasocial relationships, because, at least from our point of view, it's so similar to an interpersonal one.
Anyway, I'm kinda proud to have rather wholesome internet-idols and yes, I love them. In a way🙃
this was fascinating! thank you for bringing light on such an important topic!
I remember how shattered I was when it came out that certain UA-camrs were only playing characters
In a sense we’re all playing characters
@@SciGuys That was the end of my trust in Internet personalities 🤭
CORRYYYYY IM MID WATCHING ALL THE MARVEL MOVIESSSSSSSS AND I HADNT GOT TO END GAME YETTTT
PARROT SOCIAL!!!!!!!
I literally made scrap books about avril lavigne and mcfly when i was pre teen/teen. And had posters of mcfly over all 4 walls of my room. I am grateful social media wasnt as good back then because it definitely wouldve made me worse :/ even these days at the age of 28 i feel some aspects of this with favourite singers or youtubers that i watch regularly. Obviously i understand the concept of para social relationships and ensure its not affecting me negatively.. but i find myself talking about a youtube just by their first name to my partner, almost like talking about a friend. And it's easy to have thoughts to be like oh i wonder where they live and whether i could bump into them... and that's when it gets weird because people less aware of the situation than me could have similar thoughts and try and play them out. One of the youtubers i follow recently tweeted something along the lines of "i'm glad you guys like my content, but please don't send stuff to my home address, it isn't public knowledge and it makes me feel extremely uncomfortable". Like damn, he shouldnt have to say it, but honestly this is probably someone doesnt realise how scary what they did was.
when corry started talking directly woaaaaahhh
5:59 apollooooo
I was thinking about "I was born for this" by Alice Oseman, the entire time of the video😆🤦🏻♀️
All i could think about while watching this was
When CAMERON BOYCE died
Shannon Strucci's videos on parasocial relationships are very good ! Highly recommend.
it freaked me out when u broke the fourth wall wtf
9:25 I've never forgotten what year the moon landing was since I listened to this this first, it works
not to be picky but the moon landing was actually July 20, 1969
, not April. I only remember of the top off my head because its my mums birthday
49:55 I feel like this is what’s going on in much of the kin community
side note about not meeting ur hero’s everyone on b99 all had horrible experiences with their hero’s
The shop button replacing the notification button was probably the most annoying app update I've ever experienced
No, Corry, don't hate left handed people!! There's nothing wrong with being left handed. (Sorry for misunderstanding you if you were sarcastic about hating left handed people. I'm not always good at noticing when people are being sarcastic).
Great podcast episode by the way, everyone. 👍
Really interesting! I have a question about podcasting and parasocial relationships because when listening to a podcast you don’t (typically) see the person you form a parasocial relationship and I was just wondering what affect that might have on the parasocial relationship?
I've just been distracted by the cat behind shaaba
sci bis
Listening to this while studying for a science test very last minute. Science in school is not nearly as fun as this.
oh, you like sci-guys? name them all
Guilty as charged! Leave it to Shaaba to bring in the positivity though, honestly that girl could sell me oxygen and I'd say shut up and take my money lol. I have noticed Noah do a good job on his socials advising his fans he is not a professional and that they shouldnt lay that heavy shit on him which I think is totally fair.
Ever read I was born for this by Alice oseman? It's a great example of unhealthy parasocial relationships.
I was definitely listening to what was being said in the episode, however, every time the shot switched to showing Shaaba i was paying lots of attention to Apollo in the background on Jamie's chair
This video is very relevant currently with the death of Queen Elizabeth II (R.I.P). Lots of people around the world follow the royal family very closely and have spent their whole life knowing her as the queen. Its very interesting to see how affected people are by her death and I think its a great example of a large-scale parasocial relationship!
what a power crossover
Really loved this episode!