Parasocial Relationships
Vložit
- čas přidán 2. 12. 2022
- I'd like to specify here that this video isn't a callout to anyone in particular. This video is largely about fears and feelings that have manifested in my own head, rather than specific experiences. I'd also like to apologize for the one month gap between this upload, and my previous video. Life got very complicated for a few weeks. Things have stabilized now, and I can get back to work on larger scale projects again. Thanks everyone ❤
Patreon: / leadheadyt
Discord: / discord
Second Channel: / porkbrain
Twitter: / leadheadyt
The music in this video is from the Firewatch OST by Chris Reno - Hry
So... I joined a community to learn Hunt: Showdown. I made friends, started playing with people, and started interacting with some streamers.
After half a year in a smallish discord, spending time with these people, during a stream, a streamer referred to me as 'some guy in chat.'
Suddenly I understood: some roads only go one way.
yo i love hunt showdown
That’s just how it is unfortunately. I hope you at least still have your actual friends. Hunt is a really great game
At the end of the day, unless you’re hanging out with these people in their free time and away from a stream, they’re not ever your real friends. People often idolize streamers and imagine themselves to be closer to them than they ever will be.
damn bruh
I watched Solar Sands video on that talked about this topic and I found it very insightful. I think parasocial relationships can be toxic if not handled in a healthy way. I think these kinds of relationships need balance just like any other relationship. CZcamsrs are great but you have to know that you need balance in life and I am not trying to say what you should do with your life but I am just warning people to be careful and not get into unhealthy relationships. Be safe online and try not to be chronically online if you can for your own sake. Edit: I found this video to be just as insightful as Solar Sands video!
Another good one came from Super Eyepatch Wolf.
I really admire how Alpharad does it. He talks a lot about how who he is on his yt channels, twitch, and even seemingly more personal podcast is just an overexaggerated persona and calls out the people who don't realize that literally everything fans know about him is just how he acts in front of a camera. He does a lot of in person events and tries to get people close to the character he's made, while still being very blatant it's just a character. I'm just glad to see someone with that big of an audience making those intentions clear, and thought it was relevant.
I agree
Yeah it's very important to make that clear
So that's why I could never watch that dude,his fakeness is literally by design like a cardboard cutout making videos
@@yourbrainonegg159 uh no just no
@@yourbrainonegg159 I wouldn't go that far. He's just a good actor, I think. Still the personality he puts on isn't for everyone.
I think it’s important to be clear that parasocial relationships are not inherently bad. But they do stand a much higher chance of becoming unhealthy if one or both sides misunderstands the nature of the relationship. Sadly, many CZcamsrs stoke these unhealthy relationships because numbers are numbers, right?
That’s some fancy shooting your pretty good but you tend to twist your arm to absorb the recoil
@@WSendam is this like a metaphor or are you on the wrong video?
@@Jacox98 its a quote from metal gear solid 3
@@Celeste-hu5vg oh shit
I don’t know that I would agree that parasocial relationships aren’t inherently bad
It's so crazy to think that we have been in this parasocial hype ever since the first celebrity was shown to us, not uncommon, not anymore...but it can be extremely unhealthy, people tend to forget that "stan" is *not* a good thing
literally went from being a parable in eminem's song, to becoming "stalker-fan", then normalised hyper-fixation on complete strangers. wild
I'm not even a particularly big fan, I believe I watched your Combine video back when you were masculine presenting.
However I must say that the mental wellbeing of your audience is not your sole responsibility, you have a responsibility to yourself first and foremost. And I think a healthy distance between creators and audience is best for everyone, especially when that audience includes minors.
great point, also teen titans is fire
It’s definitely gotten worse over the last two years do to global lockdowns, it’s opened up an opportunity for online personalities to let viewers who can’t see their friends and family to feel like they have company. There’s nothing wrong with creators who simply make content that’s dependent on their personality but there’s a fine line between self expression and viewer exploitation
I’ll be honest this one hit me HARD, a few years ago I was completely obsessed with CZcamsrs and was basically the parasocial Superfan described in the video. I knew none of them would ever know who I was but I was content in what I thought was peaking into their lives, obviously I’ve grown since them but hearing the feeling of being young and desperate for the love of someone you idolized and looked up to from CZcams in words just hurt in such a weirdly traumatic way, amazing work Lead
I feel like this is something that has to be taught to kids. As part of parenting... The value of making real friends rather than being glued to this device that connects to your parasocial "friend". I've learned that just being aware of whats going on in my head and what i want and need helps me to actually get at those things. Which sounds really obvious once i say it like that. But theres still a lot within my head that even i am blind to, which is weird since i am the primary resident.. Of myself
Great topic!
After this point, your 7:15 arguments are soooo good! Sometimes relationships like this are definitely "Predatory", as you said by the end.
An ideal parasocial relationship is one wete both parties have respect both for themselves and the opposing parties, creators must be able to interact with with their fans, but must not fall under the idea that they owe their friendship to their fans, fans must also have the respect to realise they cant expect to be someone freind though obsession, but also realise that being freinds with someone famous isnt a solution to their problems in life, honestly this is why i dont think children should ever be using the internet, not only do they lack the social skill to maneuver around the many traps of the internet but they’re very nature as children is highly exploitable by simply having an intrest in someone.
I remember when I was a kid, I had no friends. The few friends I did have would always turn out to be lieing to and deceiving me. When you watch a youtuber, watch every video, watch their behind-the-scenes stuff, etc etc, it becomes very easy for a lonely, social outcast to form a one sided relationship. Hell, I could even see this happening to adults too. I personally formed a good handful of parasocial relationships as a kid and even teenager. Without even thinking, I would feel like Im apart of a personal relationship with this person that doesnt even know I exist. Of course, as a more emotionally stable adult who has a way better understanding of herself, its easy for me to be able to differentiate between an entertainer/personality and a real friend, but some people arnt as fortunate. Some people dont have the benefit of being able to do all the growing and self reflection ive done these past few years. Not to excuse any creepy, stalkery, or manipulative behavior from these people, but I can 100% see how and why it happens, especially since I was once in their shoes.
To be fair, a lot of tv programs do speak right to the audience
Yes, but that's because they are there FOR the audience. It doesn't mean the speaker and audience are actually friends.
@@jordanloux3883 this isn’t new. there are tv shows and pop stars and musicians our parents or grandmothers are obsessed with. Now with phones and social media, it’s a lot easier to be wrapped in to the void
Another thing I like, so streamers distance themselves from the specific viewer, is talking in groups.
Not "XxGameMasterxX said..." but "Chat said". It has probably also something to do with that it is easier to read, but a good method nonetheless.
I've been trying so hard to explain this concept to my kid. This is a super helpful video for me to pull your perspective from to help them get it. Thank you so much
❤️
Oh god, I love how uncomfortable the ending is to watch after the context given by the rest of the video
yeah, I also had a "hold up" moment
Wake up babe, new Leadhead video dropped
I’m awake!
Wake up babe, I have no original thoughts.
@@peterlawson8040 POV: you're just a lil hater
@@Yourlibrarian we watched the video at the same time, we are now brothers
@@Countess_Theta forever bonded!
This is one of the best videos i've seen on the subject, it might sound awful to say it this way but most videos about it are a short explanation of what parasocial relationships are, followed by 20+ minutes of personal examples that come off more as grievances than trying to actually, properly, explain why this is a problem, but in this vid you focused on one example and managed to express every facet of the issue with just that.
From now on im gonna send this vid to people when the subject comes up.
Please don't ever stop making videos. The videos you make have been a part of my life for a long time. I watch them and often re-watch them while doing my work and chores, they take me out of reality and make me think about the things you talk about and help me to not overthink my life and everything happening around me. They have been really helpful, thanks a lot for the videos you make.
Now you're gonna have people joining your Discord trying to be your friend by saying stuff like "I'm not like those other guys, no, I actually just want to be your friend cause I think you're cool" or whatever
But they are exactly the same as the other people
a Leadhead video is just what i needed today. thanks for supplying
I just wanna say that I like this new style of yours, with your face, some editing going on in the back. I came here 2 years ago looking for a good analysis on Metal Gear Solid 2 and I absolutely fell in love for your videos and takes. Thank you for your content.
I'm a smaller creature on twitter, and this is a horrible feeling that I'm going to have this happen to me. I don't wanna hurt people. But I'm also just a very big personality. So while helpful of what not to do, also made so anxious
This video connected so many dots in my head, the internet’s a weird place psychologically . Thank you for giving me insight
"There isn't a darkweb robot attacking me unless you count the CZcams algorithm" I mean true, I didn't get any notification about this video or the last one and decided to check in thinking you hadn't uploaded in a while. Well, here's a comment for engagement, hope your videos pick up a little more traction cause you clearly spend a lot of time creating them and I think this channel deserves to be more popular.
You probably don’t remember me, hell, you might not even read this. Back when you had like 20 subs, we had a short conversation when I commented on one of your videos. We spoke about movies you’d possibly review/analyse next. We never followed up. I’m so happy you’ve made it to 300k, keep up the good work. Hope you review one of those movies one day 😅
Dude, this was fantastic. I greatly enjoyed the physiology and emotional aspect of this themed video. As a father, I constantly worry about the contents my child watches or consumed. Look forward to more videos.
damn youre so cool and responsible and thoughtful. i may not be your friend but i admire what you do a lot.
I love how good your content still is!
I found your channel through your PT video essay, and I completely agree with what you're saying here. Parasocial relationships scare me, and I've cut relationships with people I've known IRL who were convinced that some streamer or celebrity cared about them. It's incredibly unhealthy and a huge red flag for me to see people like that and I want nothing to do with them regardless of how many years I knew them before they became maladjusted. Creators do not owe their viewers anything and they should engage in their creativity for fun and to please themselves, not anyone else. I know what you mean about "Stan" being a really creepy song- I remember hearing it when I was way too young to be listening to it and how it gave me chills and made my stomach drop even as a kid. The accuracy it has now is even scarier.
Great video! People should talk more about this. Also I just want to say that I was happy to see "Accursed farms" video thumbnail in the background :D
Awesome video, the Firewatch scenery as a background is particularly special. S+ tier channel
I’m researching for my own parasocial video and this was amazing helpful!
I’m not a large creator, but I find the concept around this topic so interesting. Looking forward to digging into more of your content.
This is a big issue, and I recommend people become informed on what parasocial relationships are and be mindful of the entertainment they enjoy!
A lot of fans say that the absolute best that they want is for the person they admire to be constantly friends with them and hang out with them at a constant rate. However, the very best I personally can hope for out of a popular person is just one conversation. One average conversation, where they talk to me like a normal person and not a fan, and I would speak to them as just a normal person and not someone who has highly influenced my life. What I was so fascinated by when I started using Discord and VRChat is that same 'indie' feeling that brings a lot of people together. I would set up a stream in a channel, and a bunch of people would join in who did all kinds of crazy things, whether it be a voice actor, or a CZcamsr, or an animator, or something along those lines. It seemed to have been a sort of unspoken rule to just treat people like normal people. Not unimaginably popular and famous celebrities. Hell, one time I met a person who was an actor in Postal 4, and was the same guy who did Otis from Half-Life: Opposing Forces. Like all of the actors in that game, as well as the entire franchise, and just all videogames and even all media in general, I had assumed that these voice actors were out of touch and hardly had any idea that Discord or VRChat even exists. It's so weird that we live in a world with access to all archives of all human knowledge, and somebody could very easily make an announcement to the entire world within 5 minutes, without even needing to get it past any officials or PR Teams.
4:03 serious i always feel like im being manipulative asshole when i do nice things like im not actually just trying to make people think so
At this point I'm pretty sure I have no parasocial relationships with youtubers at least I hope I'm not unconsciously forming parasococial relationships with personas of Strangers
Great video and articulation on your experience. No notes.
Putting Firewatch's music on as backing really elevates the subject matter.
forming actual friendships with internet content creators is so incredibly rare, and, like, I admit that a lot of the people I watch the videos of seem like they'd be cool people to be friends with, but, as someone who now has a friend who has an internet presence and a community, yeah, the ONLY way to have that happen is just, like, talking in servers people like that are in, and you literally will not expect it or see it coming and, if you want to be friends with a specific person, it probably won't happen. I found a cool friend, THEN got somewhat involved in her community and started making more friends who are also cool and have internet presences, but I didn't know anything about any of these people until I was talking in a different artist's discord about random shit, and someone liked talking to me. A big thing to remember on the internet is that no one owes you anything, and everyone on the internet has their own life just as complex as yours. Friendships form naturally over time, not from being a fan of someone.
I feel like instant communication is at once one if not the greatest achievement of humanity and also at the same time one of the worst.
That drip is incredible I must say.
if you're referring to the blood from the axe wound, then yeah.
This is the year of essays on parasocial relationships. I have learned a lot about my relationship with CZcams as entertainment, but much more about the experiences of large channels. I share your concern of how career CZcamsrs target and affect young and naive consumers.
Truly yours, your biggest fan,
This is Stan
I thought I’d heard everything there was to hear on this topic, but actually in this one you answered a question I’ve had for a long while. That is to say, it’s been a curiosity to me that SuperEyepatchWolf has to warn his viewers away from forming an overfamiliar parasocial relationship with him in nearly every video these days, yet I’ve never heard Tim Rogers of Action Button do it even one time. While it’s true that EyepatchWolf has a way bigger audience, and I’m also sure that Tim DOES have overfamiliar fans crossing boundaries sometimes, that difference between them is still interesting to me. My boyfriend has noticed that SEW’s audience tends to skew younger perhaps, but in this video, by shifting the perspective to youtubers who deliberately manipulate those feelings in Young Children for profit, it really made me understand that age is probably a major factor.
Now, I know that there have been countless cases of adult fans getting invasive and obsessive over youtubers, I’m not trying to say that my revelation here is that “I get it - it must be those darn kids doing this!” - just that I’ve never before seen anyone point out how vulnerable and malleable young minds can be with regards to this topic. It’s a shame that that’s the case whether it’s being deliberately discouraged or exploited.
Haven't watched the video yet but I'm certain it's a damn good one as always, I just gotta real quick say damn you and thank you for again using my emotional trigger by putting a frame from The Wall in the thumbnail and I swear if you don't talk about that movie at some point imma be real sad
Yessss new lead head
This is a Great video. I bet it'll have a lot of shares.
I actually never thought how this might be affecting kids, I usually see adults being creepy and stalking people, I didn't think how that habit starts in the first place. Interesting but sad
darn, that last line hit hard.
Oh? Are you trans? Thats super cool! I remember finding your channel from your Half-Life video.
love the firewatch music and background
very good video good friend leadhead. so glad my very real friend made this
Holy shit that coat is so awesome, I love your style
(out of topic) 0:45 i love that at the top right we can see the recommendation desert sands feel warm at night album (named "New World Disciples" in spotify) which is an album I've been totally enamored and mesmerized by since it came out, I hope anyone reading this gives it a listen especially track 4 and support the artist in bandcamp if they can
That album truly has slowly become one of desert's most celebrated albums
That jaystation video took a decade off my lifespan
I just played Firewatch around the time I watched this, and there couldn’t be a good enough game to use for the aesthetics in this video. Other than just being a pretty game, it makes you think about the parasocial relationship you might have formed with Delilah.
Glad to see some more people are willing to discuss how odd this phenomenon is and can oddly enough creep up almost outta nowhere.
Great video. Very philosophytube-esque with the ol’ leadhead spin. Thank you for making it
Ok, ik the topic makes this kind of ironic, but you look really good! Good to see you more comfortable on camera, love your work!!
Bigbrain stalker: "Stop paying attention and they'll be into me, got it"
These deserve way more views
I feel like ahat helped me build a healthy boundary between myself and youtubers was being into a lot of skit comedy,so my young self had a sense that people om youtube are actors like on TV, as well as educational content beung bery clinical in tone
One part of this is that parents/guardians are not supervise correctly.
They should detect these things, but often they just let them watch without knowing what they watch.
Yes we need to point fingers at these *** who exploit these children, but guardians have a big responsibility.
And yes I know that not every family has the capability, even probably most families, because they are working long hours and have no energy to supervise, so maybe this should be talked about in school?
It's difficult for me to see a real solution that fits all. Or multiple solutions.
But the least guardians can do is watch some things with their children.
Super Eyepatch Wolf’s video called “What is Nathan Fielder” is a really interesting essay on the image you project as a figure on the internet.
she's dripped the hell out ong
ay anyone got the outro song?
The virgin exploitative CZcamsr:
*"Hey guys"*
The Chad Warden:
*"Sup bitches"*
JEREMY ELBERTSON
"I'm killing you! Not like a random guy, but specifically you!"
the irony of getting an ad for a tv show that sets people up on dates with celebrities whilst watching this
Oh hell yeah my favorite topic
Didn't watch any video of yours in a long time, but I fell like I should stay this time
Babe wake up new leadhead
>Ross's Game Dungeon: The Cave World Sage
>JayStation
>During Leadhead
It's so painful to hear JayStation despite the context of a good and well made video while being reminded of another good video at the same time.
Love the firewatch OST!!!!!
Excellent and sad video. You also have to wonder how many of these creators don’t just market towards kids for the money…
My friend who is 15 fell for this somehow and changed so mutch im not friends with him anymore
why is the tv talking to me while i eat
I like the setup!
I literally wrote an essay on this recently, also referenced stan and such. This is such a scary topic, and it’s not nearly talked about enough. Thank you so much for this Video Leadhead
2nd video I've seen of yours, pretty cool 👍
i'm busy programming something rn and want to wait until i can give my full attention to the video so i'll probably come back to it tonight, but super excited to see you covering this topic
the coat is fire where is it from
The outfit in this video is SO COOL. ❤
Wow this Leadhead lady is really smart i wish she was my friend
@@trollgaming_official No she isn't. Shut up.
@@trollgaming_official a white wall gets painted yellow. would you still call that wall "technically white"?
y’all are giving in too much for someone literally called “troll gaming”
"Maybe it wasnt you that said it...
You that did it...
Maybe it was their thoughts and experences bleeding through into your own mind..."
"What the fuck?..."
This part is a inception thing of you staring at a screen,but the screen looking back at you/through your eyes too.
I saw a advertisment of a perspectictive of a old person watching some1 like a doctor on a tablit(but in dead space 3rd person.)
GIRL YOU'RE SO PRETTY
hey guys welcome back again to another video and today
O shit new video on parasocial relations now were talking
Yeah if I ever have kids I'm keeping them away from youtube and social media
I didn't need anything more than the Korone clip 5 seconds in to make me like the vid TBH
May I ask you to take a look at Command & Conquer: tiberium franchises
well said
The internet is real, it’s literally the zeitgeist of our knowledge and communication abilities. Don’t believe the old “it’s not real, it’s online” we see things like a tweet change the whole world. The internet is an extension to our social abilities. It’s important to keep the scope of possibilities and problems in mind though, because this is a magnification of natural abilities
13:27 it's only been a month since the last video???
can "a fan of LeadHead" be called a LeadHeadHead please
cool and good.
i feel like this could almost serve as a psa people should see before going on the internet. this is a really important topic
channel has improved tenfold, same types of videos but now pretty woman on screen
👍
This phenomena is old... Except that it turned easier with just how interactive it is today.
Preformers are always a target for the fantasies of their fans, and on the flip side, preformers can easily exploit their fans.
hello leadhead. Just wanted to wish ya good day
a lot of the times people forget their favourite creator is still human
I feel those people might need actual help understanding Parasocial Relationships
OMG I’m so early and to think I was just about to sleep
Ah no worries I consider you a cool gamer not a friend but a cool gamer who gets it you know IT things in general you’re not a friend sure but your vids cheer me up and shit so I watch cuz you are a cool gamer