The Psychology of your 20s - 309. The psychology of parasocial relationships

Episode Date: July 1, 2025

Why do we form intense, one-sided bonds with people we've never met? From favourite podcasters and social media influencers to beloved fictional characters, parasocial relationships are a defining feature of modern life – but what do these seemingly non-reciprocal connections truly reveal about our need for connection? In today’s episode, we explore the psychology of parasocial relationships: why our brains are wired for these intimate-at-a-distance bonds, and how they play a surprisingly significant role, especially in our twenties. We explore: Characteristics of parasocial relationships Why our ancient brains are predisposed to form these connections The parasocial relationships spectrum, from casual engagement to pathological obsession The profound positive benefits of companionship and role modelling When parasocial relationships become imbalanced How to cultivate healthy engagement with online personalities   Whether you feel like you're best friends with a YouTuber or just curious about the invisible ties that bind us to media figures, this episode is for you.   Listen to my NEW PODCAST, Mantra: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Ckds0BoJDDpODInN9cWcc?si=b6ad5d555c1940e0    Follow Jemma on Instagram: @jemmasbeg Follow the podcast on Instagram: @thatpsychologypodcast For business: [e-mail]    The Psychology of your 20s is not a substitute for professional mental health help. If you are struggling, distressed or require personalised advice, please reach out to your doctor or a licensed psychologist.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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consequences. Listen to Love Trapped podcast on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello everybody and welcome back to the psychology of your 20s, the podcast where we talk through some of the big life changes and transitions of our 20s and what they mean for our psychology. Hello everybody. Welcome back to the show. Welcome back to the podcast. New listeners, old listeners, wherever you are in the world. It is so great to have you here back for another episode as we of course break down the psychology of our 20s. Today, we are diving into a fascinating, increasingly prevalent aspect of modern life, we're talking about parasycial relationships.

You might be thinking, what in the world is a parasocial relationship? I can almost guarantee that you've experienced one. Have you ever felt a very strong connection to a YouTuber or a podcaster whose voice you hear every week? Do you follow a specific celebrity on Instagram and are really invested in their relationship, in their friendships, in what they're doing personally.

Do you find yourself genuinely happy or deeply sad based on what's happening in a fictional character's life from a TV show or from a book? Is there a musician you admire or someone you admire who you have been following for years? And their struggles and their triumphs feel like your own. If you answered yes, to any of those questions, congratulations, you have. have been in a parasycial relationship. A parasycial relationship is essentially a one-sided bond that we form with media figures, celebrities, fictional characters, even online influences. And in our 20s, this phenomena is particularly amplified. We are often very immersed in digital

media. We are constantly consuming content. We are also really trying to find connection. So these seemingly safe and accessible connections that we have with fake versions of people that we see online are incredibly potent and meaningful. And it might sound a little bit abstract. Like how can you have a relationship with someone that you've never met? But there is a lot of psychology that proves that the feelings that we feel towards the celebrity figure are incredibly real. The excitement, the disappointment, the sadness, the grief, whatever it is, that we feel. towards someone in a public eye is felt deeply in our bodies and in our minds and in our brains. Sometimes this can even go very, very far, starting to stalk a celebrity.

We see examples of people who meet a famous singer and they touch them and they grab them because to them this person is familiar, but to the singer they are a stranger. We forget that. Think of like all these instances recently that have been happening with celebrities like Chaparone and Doja Cat. all of those examples come from it or derive from a parasocial connection that fans have with the people that they support. So we are going to explore what exactly is going on there. What's happening in our brains when we form these seemingly non-reciprocal bonds, how does social media really supercharge these connections,

how online personalities make you fall in love with them and make you connect with them from psychological perspective and why these relationships are often a form of escapism. I also want to talk about my own parasycial bonds. You know, I have relationships, relationships like these, if that's what we want to call them. And there's no shame here. I'm going to give you some insights to my own parasocial tendencies, the celebrities that I may worship and follow, just so that we can bear it all, we can have a really honest discussion around why this happens. It's so interesting. It's so fascinating. it is very much real. So without further ado, let's get into the psychology of parasycial relationships.

We have to begin by truly understanding what this relationship actually is, because it's not like a normal relationship, is it? Obviously, it's a parasycial one. So this term parasocial relationship, it wasn't just pulled out of thin air. It was specifically coined back in the 1950s by two pioneering sociologists. Donald Horton and Richard Wohl. It's really important to remember their names because they are the ones who really founded this whole idea.

And they wrote this really influential paper. It was called Mass Communication and Parassocial Interaction, Observations on Intimacy At a Distance. And they were writing this paper, they were doing this research at a time when the media landscape was like rapidly changing. Television was like a relatively new phenomenon. a lot of people were only just starting to get TVs into their homes. People were getting hooked. You know, they never viewed or engaged with people this way, you know, through a screen.

And these researchers were meticulously observing how this was influencing our social minds, kind of out of fear, fear that it was changing who we were as creatures. I feel like that fear often comes with the introduction of any kind of new technology. and as they were doing this research, they noticed a very curious pattern. Viewers weren't just passively consuming content. They were, in a sense, engaging with TV personalities, news anchors, talk show hosts, actors, and they were engaging with them emotionally in a way that really mimicked real-life social interactions. Even though the audience obviously couldn't physically respond and they weren't being acknowledged,

they would still instinctively not along, they would smile, they would laugh, they would genuinely feel like they were having a personal interaction with the person on screen. They would even start bringing up characters or news anchor's names in conversations with family and friends, just like they were another person they knew. Like, oh, did you see that Dr. Phil got a new haircut? Oh, did you see that, you know, Nancy, her boyfriend broke up with her? They'd never met these people. All they knew about them was from TV.

a TV channel that thousands, millions of others were watching, and yet they couldn't help themselves. So these researchers described this as a very intimate personal connection that did not have two-way reciprocity, a one-sided relationship. It was a relationship that existed parallel to social interaction. You could see interaction between them and someone else taking place. You could imagine interacting with them, but it wasn't actually occurring. And that's where the term parasycial came from. Let's talk about some of the core characteristics that define these relationships and how to tell if you kind of may or may not have one. Parassocial relationships are always one-sided, always, but they are also incredibly emotionally engrossing. So this is arguably

the most critical and defining characteristic. In a genuine friendship or with a genuine person that you care about and you love, there's mutual recognition and interaction. However, in a parasocial relationship, the media figure has no personal knowledge of you whatsoever. You know about them, their life, their thoughts, their preferences, they have no awareness of your existence. And that feels very, very hard to grasp. This fundamental asymmetry is what sets these relationships apart from traditional social bonds. they also have a real powerful illusion of intimacy. So despite the lack of direct interaction,

often there's a lot of information about this person that is accessible. Either they have made it accessible or, you know, certain news sites or tabloid magazines have made it accessible. So, for example, you know, someone like Taylor Swift, like people constantly talk about her dating life. And so you have this level of information about her that you wouldn't normally have about a stranger, but you also know that you don't actually know her. It's just that this level of information blurs the lines and it feels like you know all these intimate things. And so they are known by you. It can almost sound like, you know, you're on the receiving end of this media figure confiding in you. You know, all these things about their life, stuff that you would only know about someone if you

were close to them and yet you're not. Our brain kind of. gets confused. This emotional resonance, it's not superficial. Like, it is very real and it fosters loyalty and protectiveness. So this is another part about a parasycial relationship that people rarely talk about is the sense of loyalty, the fact that you would defend them to the ends of the earth, the fact that you are offended if someone else criticizes them, even though you don't know them, even though they don't know you. Because of this illusion of intimacy, and it is an illusion, there's also a non-reciprocal flow of information. So in a real relationship, information flows back and forth.

You share something, they share something. You tell them a secret. They tell you a secret. You're vulnerable together. But again, you learn a lot about them. They don't know anything about you. And what it can sometimes lead to is people, you know, DMing famous celebrities, people sending them insane long emails,

giving them all this information about them, almost to make it feel like they know them or meeting a celebrity and telling them like the most personal intimate thing about them because our brain is like, okay, we need to bridge the gap. It kind of understands that this is an illusion and it goes, well, the illusion will feel less severe if I start just telling people things. The thing is, is that you are one of thousands of people who DM a celebrity like Billy Eilish or a famous influencer. But you only see your message.

You only see what you're giving. And so the level of investment you put in, it's not matched. It cannot be matched, but it feels like a lot from your direction, whereas the other person still has no idea who you are. These relationships are also formed through repeated exposure. Consistency, as we know, is a key ingredient in the formula for perceived closeness for building any kind of relationship. Any relationship does not form overnight. It needs to be cultivated through consistent, repeated interactions, or in this scenario, repeated consumption of content, whether it's watching a show weekly, whether it's listening to a podcast

daily, whether it is following and influences stories who post multiple times a day, this continuous exposure fosters familiarity, you know what's going on in their life, and a deep sense of closeness. That's a very natural reaction. The more frequently and consistently, you engage with their content, the stronger the feeling of a developed relationship becomes. That is why TikTok has done so well for making people famous, because it runs on people sharing as much of themselves as possible. It runs on people being content machines. And it gives that sense of consistency and exposure. This consistent presence, it also cultivates a real strong sense of anticipation, right? You're waiting for the next thing that they're going to talk about.

waiting for the next hall they're going to post, you're waiting for the next point of character development. Researchers have identified that this anticipation also strengthens an emotional investment in this person. You start to give them money, you start to buy their merchandise, you start to attend events, you start to subscribe for paid content, you start to give them more of your time. And this financial commitment, this investment of energy and time and resource, further solidifies the bond that you believe you have. Now, whilst this concept originated with very traditional broadcast media like TV and radio, of course, the digital age, it's just caused an explosion and a radical transformation of

parasocial relationships because you can now find any kind of person who looks like you, who has the same interests as you, you can kind of pick and choose who you want to relate to because there's so many internet personalities available, whereas previously, like, you kind of only had the traditionally famous individuals to choose from. Online personalities are also really unedited. They sell a highly authentic persona because they know that this is what people want to see. They know what scientists have been saying for a very long time. Either they know it from research or they know it through trial and error.

they know that when someone shares vulnerable information, when someone talks about the breakup, when someone posts blooper, reels, when someone films themselves without makeup, and when they maintain a consistent persona, through series, through whatever it is, they are often perceived as more relatable and trustworthy. As someone who has kind of been behind the scenes in this industry,

I have to tell you, a lot of what you are seeing is not real. even if it looks really authentic, that authenticity has been created. Those interesting reels or those interesting storylines or those dramatic moments, those tea times, like a lot of it isn't real. People know that this is a marketing thing. This is a way to market themselves. Even if you think that you are immune to it,

the way that our brain works sometimes means that you're not. brains are very ancient organs and they are meticulously wired over millennia for social interaction and I guess survival within a tribal context. For hundreds of thousands of years, any face or voice that we encountered was almost unequivocally indicative of a real reciprocal social partner, someone we'd potentially interact with directly, form alliances with or even be threatened by. and our brains, as remarkably adaptable as they are, haven't fully caught up to the rapid advent of mass media. They still largely process any interaction using the same neural machinery and mental shortcuts as they would a real world interaction. And this modern day concept is really explained by something called media equation theory,

which essentially posits that humans often interact with media as if it were really, real people or places. It's why people love to go to the friends apartment in New York. It's why people who play fictional characters on TV shows amass an abundant personal following. Our human brain is fundamentally a social brain. It's perpetually on the lookout for connections and it interprets the cues from media figures through that ingrained lens. It sees their behaviors, reactions, emotions, stories like our own. It compares them to what we're going through. So they also feel familiar. And because of that, we automatically see online personalities or media personalities similar to how we see our friends and family. There's a sense of likeness there. Another critical

reason for this lies in the perceived control that parissocial relationships offer, which I think is also why they are on the rise. Unlike real-life friendships, which demand consistency, they demand effort. You have to make time. You have to make plans. Sometimes there is conflict, sometimes there is awkwardness, there is vulnerability. Parassocial relationships are always available and they're always kind of easy. There's virtually no risk of direct rejection because they don't actually know you. There's no conflict. There's no social anxiety that is often associated with traditional interpersonal interactions.

You are in complete control. You decide when to watch, when to listen and crucially when to simply, when to simply. turn it off. This aspect can be incredibly appealing, especially for individuals who might struggle with social anxiety or who might harbor a real deep, seated fear of rejection in their real world interactions. Parascial relationships, their power is that they can offer a low-risk avenue for experiencing social connection. It's also important to understand that not all parasycial relationships are created equal. They operate on what we call a continuum of intensity. So it's not that they simply exist or don't exist. There's different levels to

it. In particular, there are three different levels of parasycial relationships that we might develop. At the mildest and most common end, you have entertainment social, parasocial relationships. This is where your engagement is primarily for enjoyment. You appreciate a celebrity's work. You appreciate Beyonce's albums. You might casually follow their life updates. You might, you know, chat about them with your friends. It's light, it's fun, it's relatively low stakes. It doesn't involve a deep emotional investment. It's not taking away from your daily life. It's just really like enjoyment and passive entertainment. Moving along the spectrum, we encounter intense personal parasocial relationships. Here, there is a considerably stronger emotional investment. You

feel like they can influence your decisions, influence your purchasing decisions, influence what you're wearing, you experience strong empathy, deep loyalty, you might even perceive them as a friend or a kindred spirit, whilst you typically still retain the cognitive awareness that it's not real life, it's not a two-way relationship, there is this real emotional depth. You do sometimes think like, huh, I could probably be friends with that person. Like, if I had the chance, chance to meet whoever it was, like, we would get along. There's a strong sense of pride in their achievements as well, a genuine sadness in their setbacks. So for individuals with entertainment social and even intense personal parasocial relationships, the benefits might actually be quite

significant. A very groundbreaking 2024 study that was published in nature actually discovered that parisocial bonds actually alleviate feelings of loneliness and they also help with emotional regulation. So you're sad, you're angry, you're heartbroken, you listen to your favorite artist, you feel comforted, you listen to your favorite podcast, you feel better about a situation, not just because of the information they're providing, but because of the fact that it feels comforting, it feels like a friend. Another study that was done in 2018 for the Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media found that parissocial relationships can also buffer the negative effects of social isolation, particularly when we are really limited in terms of social contact. So if you think about it during COVID, this was incredibly powerful. Why do you think TikTok, so many people got famous on TikTok during COVID?

because people were looking for ways to interact with others that mimicked real-life contexts, that mimicked real-life joy and friendship, and it provided a sense of healthy distraction from stress. I think really valuably, parasocial relationships, they also serve as a really powerful source of social learning and role-modeling. In a modern, you know, media landscape, people like, I don't know, I'm trying to come up with names. Like people like Alex Earle, people like Taylor Swift, think about your favorite influencer,

your favorite artist. They provide a template for how you want your life to be in a way. They help you define your values, your ethical stances. They help you envision potential career aspirations. They help you make fashion choices. They help you make, you know, career and education choices, relationship choices. They kind of provide. like a subtle social script for growing up and for interacting with the real world.

A lot of people who are lifelong fans of certain musicians or certain actresses or certain people will tell you like they first discovered them when they were quite young. This person has followed them through their life chapters. You know, I know I'm talking about Taylor Swift a lot, but she's probably the person I have the deepest parasycial relationship to because, you know, when I was six, that's like the first album that my dad bought me. And when I was 14, you know, I went to New York and I went to all of her favorite spots that she talked about in like a Vogue interview. And it was almost like, oh, she is this guidance for me. And like her albums would bookmark certain life experiences I was

having that she went through before my friends went through. And so you really see that it's like, they're a companion for life. They feel like, someone you can trust because they'll never hurt you. And they, because they are wealthy and famous and often beautiful, there's this lifestyle they have that you think, wow, if my life was more like that, it would be much better. That's a core part of how they really make money. It's not just that they seem like a friend. It's that there's a part of them that's unattainable. And there's a weird kind of economics to the fact that because they're unattainable, they can sell you things with the idea that if you have that thing, you'll be more like them. If you drink their branded drink, you'll be more

like them. If you wear the clothes that they wear and that they sell, you'll be more like them. If you listen to their music, if you adopt their lifestyle, if you buy the same pedism, whatever it is, you could be like them. And wouldn't your life be so much happier? Wouldn't you just be a better version of you. So their comparison targets sometimes as well. They present this idea of who we might want to be, who we can aspire towards. Whether that's a good or a bad thing, it's up to you. For some people, you know, that kind of upward social comparison is quite motivating for other people. It can make them feel really terrible and it can lead into a more sour kind of connection. The relationship becomes all consuming. It becomes intense. This is what you. This is what

I want to explore after this short break. What happens when a parasocial relationship turns unhealthy? Stay with us. 2%. That is the number of people who take the stairs when there is also an escalator available. I'm Michael Easter. And on my podcast, 2%, I break down the science of mental toughness, fitness, and building resilience in our strange modern world. I'll be speaking with writers, researchers, and other health and fitness experts, and more. to look past the impractical and way too complex pseudoscience that dominates the wellness industry. We really believe that seed oils were inherently inflammatory.

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growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search learn the hard way and listen now. So we're talking about parasycial relationships, the good, the great, the bad, the ugly. What makes these kind of pseudo-relationships almost dangerous? So at the extreme and rarest end of that parosocial scale we were talking about before, you find borderline pathological parasitial relationships.

My God, say that seven times. Borderline pathological parasit. Yeah, see, can't even say it once. these are the least common and potentially the most concerning to navigate. So in these cases, the individual can begin to lose control over their thoughts and their feelings concerning the media figure. Sometimes the lines of reality are incredibly blurred. They might develop delusions of actual reciprocity. They might believe that the media figure truly knows them or will one day respond to their affections.

You hear stories of people believing that, you know, Drew Barrymore is sending them messages through their TV to come and whisk her away or of people breaking into celebrities' houses because they think that they have been invited. What factors cause someone to create this more intense form of parasocial activity? Well, it's definitely linked to certain mental health disorders, particularly psychosis and schizophrenia, but individuals experiencing chronic loneliness, heightened social anxiety, introversion, lower self-esteem, or who have a stronger psychological desire for escape may be a lot more prone to forming these intense relationships.

For example, there is this model known as the absorption addiction model that helps explain why people often engage in extreme celebrity worship. And essentially what it says is that they do that to close. compensate for some other kind of deficiency in their life. Something is lacking in their life. They have a difficulty forming intimate relationships. They lack identity. They lack career stability.

They're having difficulty adjusting to life's like psychological demands. And having this fictional relationship with someone fills that hole for them. It fills that sense of yearning and longing. So according to this model, initially, the intense focus on the celebrity gives someone a real sense. of satisfaction. This motivates them to become even more intensely attached. This is the absorption stage of the model. They absorb parts of this person into their own identity. This fulfillment then becomes addictive. The more they engage with content, the more they feel a sense of belonging. The more they feel like someone is really speaking to them, the more that they feel like someone is really speaking to them.

likely it is for them to engage in thrill-seeking behavior, stalking, trying to gain some sense of mental, physical, emotional closeness to the individual. These relationships act as a secure base for that individual, especially if real-life attachments are inconsistent. But what actually, what actually ends up happening is if it becomes completely demented, it becomes completely overwhelming and because they've spent so much time in the world and the mind of this person they admire, they can't distinguish what is normal behavior and a normal approach to this individual. The biggest risk beyond obviously danger to both parties that comes from these intense kind of parasycial relationships is that they can become a replacement for real reciprocal

bonds. If parasocial relationships fill the void left by a lack of genuine friends, or family bonds, it can actually lead to greater isolation in the long run. There's an over-reliance, particularly because there's an ease. It's easier to be and to relate to someone who you're never going to meet versus having to maintain face-to-face connections. But what happens when the person at the center of these parasocial relationships doesn't live up to our expectations? what happens when they do something wrong, when they express political views that are different

to yours, when they do something scandalous, you know, Charlie X, X, X, like, did a bunch of work for H&M and a lot of people were like, that's not who I thought, you know, Brat Girl Summer was or whatever it is. You know, these people are real humans with their own motivations and teams of people telling them what's best and they deal with every other, every motion that you've experienced they are experiencing. obviously like under the limelight, they're not always going to do everything right. But if we have an intense psychological and parissocial connection to them, it can feel like they've done something wrong to us.

There's severe grief. There's anger. There's a sense of disappointment. There's a sense of like having to unfriend them almost, not engage with them anymore. Like you would with a friend who also hurt you. This is where this idea of ownership over public figures and influences comes in. it's this overly inflated sense of entitlement or an expectation of, you know,

relatability and reliability that no one can promise you. You know, this person does not know who you are. Like I feel like I've said that so many times, but they would have millions, some of these people have millions, millions of people who really adore them and who like them. And they can't make every single person happy. It's just absolutely impossible for their. them to keep everyone happy and also continue to build a fan base because obviously what's required for building a fan base, authenticity, authenticity leaves a lot of room for disagreement.

And it's so interesting that people, you know, someone will do something wrong. And yes, there are definitely things like when people do wrong that you're like, oh, that's really terrible. But people will just do something wrong that they didn't even realize or they'll use a brand that, you know, they didn't know it was bad or whatever it is. and people will go at them in the comments. And it's like, I can't believe that I ever followed you. You don't deserve any more of my attention.

You're a terrible, disgusting person. I feel betrayed. Think about what it would be like to be on the other end of being like, you feel betrayed. Like, I don't even know who you are. And you're having such a strong visceral emotional reaction to me. And obviously, this person's going to take it on. But how did, like, can you see how odd that is to be like,

the subject of so much anger and upset that you obviously don't want to cause, but then you also don't particularly feel responsible for, but also don't really know how to handle because it's not like this is a friend who you actually owe things to. It's someone who feels like you owe them something even though you don't even know their name. So you can see how this gets really complicated, right? People are obviously entitled to their opinions and people are entitled to expect certain things of celebrities and people who have made a name from being public, but it's not a normal relationship. It's not a normal way to interact with people. It's completely abnormal. And I think it's a real contributor, these parasycial relationships. We've been

speaking primarily about positive ones, as in it's bringing a sense of worthwhile and bringing a sense of fulfillment to your life. But there's also negative parasocial relationships that can lead to online abuse and hate comments and trolls where people get a kick out of really hurting someone and bringing them down and they get a kick out of seeing their words and their actions hurt someone they've never met. Like I used to have a troll like that. Um, who had, I don't even know who this person is, but they were so awful to me. And every time I would block an account, a new account would pop up or yeah, I knew, I couldn't tell if it was the same person, although I was pretty sure would pop up and just start all over again. And I always had this fear. I was like,

is this someone I know? Is this someone whose feelings I've accidentally hurt in the past? Because how could anyone be this invested in harming me if they didn't actually know me? And it turns out it's really not all that uncommon these days. The rate of celebrity stalking, the rate of celebrity worship, the rate of thrill-seeking behavior towards celebrities, the rate of online harassment is going up or comes down to this strange relationship that we feel like we have this strange sense of ownership over people online. I think it's really important with that in mind to be really mindful with how you engage with individuals who you believe you are forming a parasocial relationship with. To be really self-aware around the fact that this is not

real. A relationship is a two-way street. This is a one-way street. As much as you might really care about them and much as you are very invested in their life, the moment that you start to feel like they owe you something, the moment that you start to feel like your emotions are tied to what they're doing, the moment that you start to find that you are going to their page, going to their Instagram, going to their website, whatever it is, so repeatedly that they are a major thought pattern for you and take up a lot of mental space, you do need to kind of pull it back. Monitor whether this over-reliance on this fictional person or this online persona or this celebrity is maybe making up for a deficiency in another area of your life.

It's really important to understand that. If you're leaning too far into this person's persona or to the world they've created, can you identify if there is perhaps another need? that is not being met. For example, a sense of companionship. If that's what you're struggling with, I have a whole episode on making friends on your 20s, but you really need to start seeking out real world interaction.

Go to the same places, the same clubs, the same gym classes, the same cafes as part of your routine at the same times, meet people that way. Go and do friendship nights or meetups or dinner with strangers in your local area, asked to be introduced to mutual friends, put more effort in with work colleagues, note and notice that an over-reliance on what's happening in someone's online life might be because of a lack of something happening in your offline life. And really understand that although a parasocial relationship might be, might feel perfect,

you're missing out on a really core ingredient when it comes to nourishing relationships, which is the messiness and the vulnerabilities. That's what makes love and platonic intimacy and connection so real and necessary for longevity is that it challenges us and it allows us to grow and it allows us to feel trust and vulnerability and to feel growth and attachment to someone. There is no replacement for this. There is no replacement for that at all, nothing in this world that someone, an online media persona, could ever feel.

So just make deliberate concentrated efforts to mindfully engage, to have a few digital detoxes every now and again, regularly schedule and commit to breaks from social media or a particular kind of content. That's really going to help reduce that constant exposure and really critically evaluate the content you're consuming. Especially when it comes to influencers promoting certain products or lifestyles. Let me tell you this once more. A lot of that is curated to sell you something. A lot of what you see from very famous influencers is a lot of trial and error from their part until they've found something that clicks and that works and then replicating that over and over again in a way that might feel authentic for you, but is perhaps not. There's a lot of filters going on.

There's a lot of body modification through online editing that goes on. There is so much that you don't see. and I know you might not need that reminder because you're a smart, intelligent person, but even if you think you're immune to it, you are not. I am not. And I'm friends with people like this and like not people who are inauthentic, but I'm friends with people who work in media who we talk about this all the time. And even then I'll see someone's life online and be like,

oh, my life would just be better if it looked like that. That's parisocial. It's unhealthy comparison. It's unhealthy obsession with a life that has been. being displayed that is not real. So we really need to find our reality point. We really need to find our way of assessing this truthfully. I also saw this really amazing video the other day around the difference between consuming and applying. If you find that you are constantly like consuming content because you want inspiration and because you want to feel like you, like sometimes consuming content

feels like you're doing something, it's not the same as actually doing the thing. Consuming mass amounts of running content, consuming mass amounts of lifestyle content, of business content is not the same as putting those things into action. So this might be unrelated to parasycial relationships. Perhaps this is more around just genuine literacy and social media literacy. Make sure you are not confusing, consuming and consumption and viewing as acting and doing and cultivating a life that you want. the hours that you spend online and engaged in these online fictional worlds is time wasted most of the time.

You know, it really is like social media is for dopamine and dopamine only. And so if you're finding that that's all you want to, all you feel drawn to, how can you turn consumption into creation and into cultivating a good life beyond the screen? Okay, we're going to take a short break. but when we return, I want to answer some of your questions, dilemmas, conundrums around parasocial relationships. There were some incredible questions for this episode. So stay with us. 2%. That is the number of people who take the stairs when there is also an escalator available. I'm Michael Easter. And on my podcast, 2%. I break down the science of mental toughness,

fitness, and building resilience in our strange modern world. I'll be speaking with writers, researchers, and other health and fitness experts, and more, to look past the impractical and way too complex pseudoscience that dominates the wellness industry. We really believe that seed oils were inherently inflammatory. We got it wrong. Many of the problems that we are freaked out about in the world are the result of stress. Put yourself through some hardships, and you will come out on the other side a happier, more fulfilled, healthier person.

Listen to 2%. That's T-W-O-Persent on the I-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. There's two golden rules that any man should live by. Rule one, never mess with a country girl. You play stupid games, you get stupid prizes. And rule two, never mess with her friends either. We always say that trust your girlfriends.

I'm Anna Sinfield. And in this new season of The Girlfriends, Oh my God, this is the same man. A group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist. I felt like I got hit by a truck. I thought, how could this happen to me? The cops didn't seem to care. So they take matters into their own hands.

I said, oh, hell no. I vowed. I will be his last target. He's going to get what he deserves. Listen to the Girlfriends. Trust me, babe. On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs?

Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence.

Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite

therapist, Keer Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough

because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely.

And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast. Learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now. Let's get into our listener questions for this episode. Just as a reminder, make sure that you are

following us at that psychology podcast on Instagram. If you want to be able to participate in future episodes when we put the call out for any questions you may have. This first question is, why are we so obsessed with celebrity gossip? It feels so unhoused. It feels so unhoused. healthy that we are so invested in the lives of people we will never know and tear them down as if we do. Okay, so this is deeply psychological, actually. From a psychological perspective, our obsession with celebrity gossip really comes down to our, I would say, deep-rooted evolutionary instinct around social hierarchy and status. We are inherently wired to monitor where we sit in the social hierarchy as tribal creatures and particularly as well to monitor those at the top of the

social ladder because historically that kind of helped us figure out our own position within a group celebrities are kind of like the modern day royalty right and so because of that sometimes we are hoping that they will fail in australia we have this term it's called tall poppy syndrome whereby the tallest flower is the first one to get cut down. You know, the person to succeed is the first one to be for people to wish for their failure. And I think that happens with celebrities a lot because if they fail, perhaps we think that there will be room for us or perhaps we think that that proves that no one is perfect and so we shouldn't feel bad about ourselves either,

especially considering that these individuals are often elevated as, yeah, being visions of perfection and being completely flawless. Gossip as well really plays into this as well. Gossip is a form of information sharing. It's a form of monitoring, I guess, like, moral and social rules. I also think that it's a form of escapism. So our lives feel less bad if we're able to compare them to the life of a celebrity who's having, you know, a really terrible time. It makes us feel like, oh, here is someone else who's struggling as well, who's experiencing a breakup, who's experiencing scandal or failure, and it humanizes them. And it reminds us that wealth or beauty doesn't shield anyone from life's challenges,

which is kind of nice. It kind of provides a sense of catharsis and a sense of relief. Also, there's a sense of entertainment as well. People love to be involved in things that are novel and new and scandalous and celebrity gossip is a great way to do that because they don't feel real. So the consequences of saying all the terrible things that you think and feel won't be as significant as if you said them about someone else. So this next question, I kind of debated whether to include it or not, but I thought it was interesting if you will allow me to be, I don't know, self-indulgent. I don't know. It feels strange, but I'll tell you the question. The question was, how does it feel for the receiver being you? So how do I deal with

with parisocial tendencies from listeners or from fans. I will say that the majority of people who come up to me or who I interact with who love the podcast are super respectful, super cool. I always say to people like, I have the coolest listeners. Anytime I meet any of you, I'm genuinely like so impressed. Like just really cool, inspiring, smart individuals. you guys always have such interesting things to say and I really like talking to you. I think it becomes a struggle online.

So something that I really encounter, obviously given the nature of what we talk about on the podcast, it's quite deep and vulnerable and emotional. And often people find those deep emotional episodes during really hard times for them. So I can occasionally receive messages that I don't think necessarily understand that I'm a stranger and that when I'm checking my messages and I open a message without context that tells me about something really terrible and traumatic that happens in your life, like it does impact me. And sometimes I find that strange because I've never met you. I don't know you.

I'm sure I would really like you if I did, but because there are, you know, at this stage, so many people in the community, I can't have those one-on-one relationships. So receiving those messages used to really stress me out. And I used to feel like I owed people a response because it would be really delicate stuff and I didn't want to ignore them. But I think I realized that it is more ethical to not respond versus to respond. It's more ethical for me to ignore the message because I think responding to messages gives an indicator of trust. And it kind of sends a signal that someone can continue to do that and that I will be there for. for them. And the thing is, is that I just can't be. You know, I have my own relationships. I have my own

friends. I do, you know, I can provide solace and love and advice for them, but to do it for thousands of people would just be like really, really irresponsible. So yeah, I think that's sometimes strange. I think also it's strange when, um, I, I feel like I'm not particularly, like I don't say myself as a public figure. Like I've been very deliberate. around not becoming like an influencer personality, not because I think there's anything bad about it, just because I know how I handle public scrutiny and I don't handle it well,

and I just don't think I would enjoy it. So, yeah, I feel like there were opportunities for me to be more like an online personality, and I didn't take them. And sometimes I wonder if I'm going to regret that because, you know, there's more money there and there's more listeners there, and there's more appreciation there,

you know, there's more attention there. And I'm like, oh, did I give up on an opportunity to be that kind of, you know, to be a TikTok star or whatever. But no, I think I made the right decision, not that I could have even really have done it. But yeah, there were definitely opportunities would be like, oh, do this ad series or do this collaboration or do this just general series. And I've been like, oh, I don't really want to do that. So I think I kind of avoid a large part of it.

But even with my like deliberate attempt to not be part of that kind of ecosystem, yeah, people do still sometimes overstep boundaries. And I do find it strange, especially when they make comments around like my boyfriend, who I don't really share much about. I'm like, oh, you, like, I had someone comment like on our relationship recently. And I was like, you don't know anything about me and anything about my boyfriend. and we have such an incredibly healthy relationship. And it was so interesting to see this person coming in blind

and really thinking that they were saying something impactful. And genuine, they sounded like concern for me. And I was like, oh, so this is what it's like when we judge other people's relationships. Like this is, this person knows nothing. But from their perspective, they really think they do. And yeah, it was kind of a, it was interesting. But yeah, I don't think I really struggle with it, probably because of the fact that I'm not famous.

And the only way I think I struggle is when I feel like responsible to people to respond to really delicate messages. But I've got a healthy relationship with that now. All right. Our third question for the day, can parasycial relationships be healthy? I think yes. I think there are a lot of situations where actually they can be a source of inspiration, they can be a source of motivation, they can be a source of comfort even, especially when

we are fans of someone who's going through similar struggles as us, similar struggles with their identity or with their body image or with their relationship or with their finding themselves or with their gender or their sexuality. Like it's really comforting to see that you're not alone. I think especially if you are in an environment where you don't have role models like that, having a celebrity figure who is accessible and available does provide you with the script for how to live a life differently to how everyone around you is telling you to live a life. live. I think they're really crossed over when you don't have that important reality distinction, or you don't have that part of you that's like, yes, but this person doesn't know who I am.

Or like, yes, but we don't actually have a relationship. So as long as you remain a fan, rather than thinking you have a friendship, I think that's, then you're pretty safe. This final question, I just thought it was really cool and I thought it was interesting. And I wanted to continue a discussion in the comments. Who is the best celebrity to worship? If you have made it this far, put a comment down the below. Who is the best celebrity to worship? Who do you think is deserving of all the parissocial relationships that come their way? My answer is Dolly Parton. I think that Dolly Parton is the best celebrity in the world. This is a podcast that was done on her a couple of years ago called Dolly Parton's America.

It's like a six-parts series. It's so wonderful and it traces the history of America through the story of Dolly Parton. It's crazy. You've just got to listen to it to understand what I'm talking about. And it just made me learn so much more about her. And I was like, wow, you are just such a cool lady and you do so much for the community. And you have this beautiful relationship with her husband who's recently passed. That's parisotial with me that I know that. Yeah, anyway, I just really admired her.

So I think Dali Partners is up there. I think she's really, really cool. She's the first one that comes to mind. If you have another example, leave it in the comments below. But I hope that this episode was interesting to you. I hope it taught you something. I hope that it helped you understand how to navigate these relationships in a very media-saturated world. Just remember, our brains are completely, simply wide for connection.

And these one-sided bonds are just a sign of that inherent wiring. They're not bad. In fact, they can be very valuable. But the ultimate goal is just to be mindful and conscious around how these figures are complementing your life rather than taking from it. I think by doing so, you can really harness the benefits. So thank you for listening this far. Make sure you're following me on Instagram at that psychology podcast that you're

following along. You're subscribed. Whatever you are listening right now, leave a comment below based on that question I just asked. And until next time, stay safe. Be kind. Be gentle to yourself. We will talk very, very soon.

2%. That's the number of people who take the stairs when there is also an escalator available. I'm Michael Easter. I'm on my podcast, 2%. I break down the signs of mental toughness, fitness, and building resilience in our strange modern world. Put yourself through some hardships, and you will come out on the other side a happier, more fulfilled, healthier person. Listen to 2%. That's TWO.% on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

On the Look Back at it podcast For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors.

Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to Look Back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host, Keir Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations

that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to, listen to learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or or wherever you get your podcast. In 2023, Bachelor star Clayton Eckerd was accused of fathering twins. But the pregnancy appeared to be a hoax.

You doctored this particular test twice, Ms. Owens, correct? I doctored the test ones. It took an army of internet detectives to uncover a disturbing pattern. Two more men who'd been through the same thing. Greg, a lesbian. Michael Mancini. My mind was blown.

I'm Stephanie Young. This is love trapped. Laura, Scottsdale Police. As the season continues, Laura Owens finally faces consequences. Listen to Love Trapped podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.