base talk How parasocial are you?

[Brooklyn Baby]

 

Most of us who stan pop girls are parasocial to an extent, but at what level is your parasocialism?

 

Which of these parasocial characteristics describes you?

 

- Defend everything your fave does (cheating, unethical billionaire status, big pharma, greedy capitalism, working with predators, marrying rapists, etc.)

- Live vicariously through your fave and flaunt their achievements (sales, streams, wealth, etc.) + feel the need to put other pop girls down in the process

- Feel a sense of loyalty and gratitude towards your fave

- Feel an emotional bond with the celebrity that feels authentic and deeply emotional

- Feel the need to project your politics and world views onto your fave, and get disappointed when they don't meet your standards

[Sawk]

Not really, I used to be a lot more when I was younger, but nowadays I only really tune in for the music with the occasional stalking on here. If you're even somewhat active on ATRL, you're slightly parasocial, like that's just the tea. 

[CherryBay]

Not really but sometimes hurts seeing people being reticent to real talent or quality and they will just tarnish and hate on something because is cool or want the attention from a fan base and rep points

 

wisdom comes with age I guess

[Illuminati]

A healthy amount

 

 

I would die for Lana Del Rey

[Taylor fanboy]

My socmed is all about Taylor or has hints of her music so talking to people in person is a surprise for them coz I don't bring her up in conversations.

 

DUALITY

 

It's good to be known for being an avid fan of something because that's the first thing they will remember you for and not the shitty things you've done. This is delulu but it helped me a lot in the corporate world.

 

 

Edited 4 hours ago by Taylor fanboy

[Alaska.]

I'm not anymore. I just burn things

[Princess Aurora]

None since a very young age. I love Pop stars but I don't feel the need to defend them or any emotional bonds towards them. I could find a song relatable but that's it. 

[Bitter Aging Twink]

21 minutes ago, CherryBay said:

Not really but sometimes hurts seeing people being reticent to real talent or quality and they will just tarnish and hate on something because is cool or want the attention from a fan base and rep points

 

wisdom comes with age I guess

No offense, but I'm sick and tired of people using the word "reticent" in place of "reluctant" and thinking they sound smarter for it.  "Reticent" means quiet, reserved, and uncommunicative.  In the context of your sentence, that word choice makes no sense whatsoever.  The word you're looking for is "reluctant" which means hesitant, resistant, and unwilling.  People aren't "quiet" to accept real talent or quality - they are "reluctant" to.

 

 

OT: I am very parasocial.  An insult towards Carly Rae Jepsen is equivalent to an insult towards my own mother, warranting violence and serious sanctions.

[nsst]

Maybe it's not fully parasocial, but with Taylor, it feels like more than just fandom. I have this feeling of wanting to build a family with her, to be there and protect her from the endless criticism. There's simply this strong feeling of wanting to be her support, even if it's something i can never actually provide. It's an intense mix of admiration and care. 

 

[Gladiator]

I am not parasocial to any celebrities. I wouldn't say I even have a fave. I like and listen to all the pop girlies.

I think the "vicariously through your fave and flaunt their achievements" is some of the most unhinged ****.

But I do have a parasocial relationship with a few streamers I follow.

 

 

Edited 4 hours ago by Gladiator

[ChooseyLover]

Quote

- Feel a sense of loyalty and gratitude towards your fave

- Feel an emotional bond with the celebrity that feels authentic and deeply emotional

Definitely these two and I don't think there's anything wrong with it. Many people feel that way about soccer players or even politicians, so why can't I have these feelings for actual talented people that create art?

Edited 4 hours ago by ChooseyLover

[Chris]

Whoever comes for Madonna or Beyonce is fat, ugly, jealous, and gay.

 

Edited 4 hours ago by Chris

[Shinkirou]

Not at all. I can admire their talents and work ethics, and have fun gossiping about their lives. But for the most part they're just rich, famous strangers to me.

[Taylor fanboy]

37 minutes ago, nsst said:

Maybe it's not fully parasocial, but with Taylor, it feels like more than just fandom. I have this feeling of wanting to build a family with her, to be there and protect her from the endless criticism. There's simply this strong feeling of wanting to be her support, even if it's something i can never actually provide. It's an intense mix of admiration and care. 

 

@IBeMe can you please control your boyfriend.

 

[Jack!]

Yeah, I mean, as that first user said being even being active on a site like this for the minimum amount of time in any given day is a parasocial trait. I certainly can and do detach parts of my real life where conversations about "who's your favourite artist" aren't relevant or brought up in conversation at all. I'm also a healthy minded adult who understands how certain parasocial traits can be detrimental. My closest friends are all fairly big music buffs, we often chat about music, if we're driving somewhere we'll stick an album on in the car and chat about it, but we're not evoking a Twitter stan war in the car. I appreciate I definitely have developed parasocial relationships with my favourite artists in the past. Especially as a closeted teen in high school when I wasn't at the best time in my life. But yeah, part of maturing is realising it's okay for someone to not like my favourite artist. And I can appreciate the way I felt back in my high school days because music got through a lot of dark times.

 

It's important to note btw that parasocial traits aren't always bad, there's nothing wrong with defending something you like. But I think if your parasocial relationship with anything is beginning to skew your day-to-day life It's okay to take a step back from how intensely you love something. Matt Bernstein (mattxiv) did a really good podcast on parasocialisms in stan culture recently after getting death threats from Swifties for calling her out online during the Brittany Mahomes stuff. It's a good listen.

Edited 3 hours ago by Jack!

[Robburro]

I love defending Avril because she's the living proof that you can be dumb and successful 

 

[Subzero]

None of the above except for showing gratitude.

 

I go to a lot of cons and meet some of my favorite celebs and it's not from a "I'm so loyal to you and I worship you" standpoint but from a you've given me joy in my favorite characters/movies/music and I wanted to just say thanks kinda way. It's also fun because I like to talk about projects and get little behind the scenes tid-bits.

 

Like last month, I met Ken Kirzinger who played a Freddy from Freddy vs Jason and we had a fun conversation about the scene when he drags Freddy through all the windows in the cabin and I wanted to know how fun it was to do that over and over but he told me it was actually one shot thing they had to do once and get everything perfect bc they didn't have the budget to rebuild the rig but that he and Robert Englund had a lot of fun time doing it. Even had a nice convo with Kathy Najimy about my grandma (she signed a nice message to her & wished her happy birthday), she was really sweet. 

 

Also getting signed stuff for my own collection is a nice addition too 

 

But beyond that, we don't know these people, they're just people who are famous. They are not our friends. Unfortunately some fans/stans think otherwise 

[Venice B]

Not at all. I'm way past that phase, I think those traits apply to teenagers most of the time.

 

I think feeling gratitude towards your fave is the most normal, though. They really are there for us in moments most people are not, especially through music. But even loyalty is debatable, I won't stand by my fave when she does stupid ****.

[Pendulum]

Parasocialism is a good thing because without it celebrities get away with doing too much. 

 

Charli xcx modelling and collaborating with H&M on their A/W 2024 collection is unethical and totally not brat.

 

 

[mathekr]

I do feel a sense of gratitude for all art that touches me and/or translate my feelings well, so I guess 0.5/5?

 

[Alldeezy]

What is a girl that will stan there fave but as soon as they no longer have a crush on them moves onto the next  

 

 

 

But honestly don't think I'm any I relate to my faves lyrics I'll love them even more. Thankfully I love my faves for being cute and making good music even if it's only for 400k monthly listeners instead of millions 

 

 

 

[Bosque]

Absolutely none of those apply to me, but like 10 ATRL users came to mind instantly

[Rihinvention]

I listen to their music and enjoy engaging in discussions and debates with other pop culture fans, but that's about it.

 

At my most unhinged, I'll daydream a conversation with them, or how we'd interact whilst sitting next together on Graham Norton (even though I have no desire to be famous).

 

I daydream a lot though, so go figure a celebrity I love makes their way into one occasionally.

[Terrielle]

None thank fk