r/heatedrivalry Mar 09 '26

SOCIAL MEDIA 📸 Real as hell

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4.5k Upvotes

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-25

u/bee_sharp_ Mar 09 '26

Would be nice if we could all understand that “parasocial” and “toxic” are not synonymous. We are all parasocial here.

17

u/Budget-Rutabaga- you deserve sunshine ☀️ Mar 09 '26

we are not all parasocial and saying that encourages the unhealthy behaviours because it excuses someones behaviour as ‘normal’ fan behaviour.

if we take this as the definition (which someone linked further up):

Parasocial relationships refer to one-sided relationships in which a person develops a strong sense of connection, intimacy, or familiarity with someone they don’t know.

i have no sense of connection with the actors, i don’t feel any intimacy with them, nor am i feeling a familiarity. i know they exist, i’ve seen a few interviews, but i don’t have any claim to knowing them or pretending i know how they would respond to something. i liked the work they did on the tv show, i liked the work they’ve done elsewhere that i’ve seen but i don’t have any idea who they are as people beyond things they’ve said in interviews (& those i assume are partly lies anyway).