Strong disagree. There are scads of magazines, blogs, videos, interviews, and all kinds of other media that are designed to create a sense of closeness and intimacy with celebrities. IDK if it's still a thing but when I was a kid kids would have their whole room covered in pictures of their favorite pop stars. "Parasocial relationship" is a new term for me, but it describes the process of creating "Celebrity" That's been ongoing for decades. Hell, look at the "Free Britney" campaign as an example of millions of people who feel an entirely one-way relationship with a celebrity. This stuff is much older than Twitch. It may be manifesting in new ways with important differences, but twitch streamers aren't the first set of performers that people intensely fixate on.
Strong disagree. There are scads of magazines, blogs, videos, interviews, and all kinds of other media that are designed to create a sense of closeness and intimacy with celebrities. IDK if it's still a thing but when I was a kid kids would have their whole room covered in pictures of their favorite pop stars. "Parasocial relationship" is a new term for me, but it describes the process of creating "Celebrity" That's been ongoing for decades. Hell, look at the "Free Britney" campaign as an example of millions of people who feel an entirely one-way relationship with a celebrity. This stuff is much older than Twitch. It may be manifesting in new ways with important differences, but twitch streamers aren't the first set of performers that people intensely fixate on.
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