I’ve never really been much of a gossip person. I think I’ve only bought a tabloid a few times when I was hanging out with friends and we wanted some magazines to read. I don’t follow online gossip sites or social media pages. I don’t know if it’s because so many stories are about people working in the same industry as me or what, but I’ve just never understood reading gossip about the lives of celebrities. Of course, I do follow celebrities on various social media sites so I see what people share that they got married or had a kid, but I don’t really seek out that information.
So when I first heard the idea of a parasocial relationship, I didn’t think I could relate to it. I never viewed people I saw online or through social media as friends or more than someone who is presenting their life online. I know that there are people who are big fans of people on YouTube or social media who know so much about them, but that just hasn’t been my experience online. But I realized that I just didn’t see that I had a parasocial relationship with people online until this past week.
I have watched the Try Guys videos pretty much since they started. I used to watch them on Buzzfeed and then continued to watch them when they created their own channel. I also listen to some of the podcasts that their company produces. I haven’t purchased their merchandise or bought tickets to see them live, but I would consider myself a fan of their work. I have enjoyed their videos and I think that they put out really great content.
And when the news about one of the stars of the channel having an affair with one of his employees, I realized that I had been having a parasocial relationship with the group. I think a lot of people had the same realization as I did because so many people who said they never cared about a celebrity break up were really sad about this situation. I think most of the gossip was hard to miss if you were online at all this past week. It seemed like everyone posted about it and it was unavoidable. I didn’t really seek out the information, but I got a lot of it through just being online. And watching some people experience the same emotions as I did was interesting.
I have never met anyone in the Try Guys, but because they all put their lives out there and many of their families have been in their videos, it does feel like you have gotten to know them a bit. People knew that this star had a wife and kids and was very known for always talking about how much he loves his wife. So everyone was immediately feeling sad for his family since we had seen them for a few years in videos. I think people also were feeling sad for the group since they were a group of friends who created this company together and have always seemed to get along in the videos. And when the announcement came that this person would no longer be a part of the channel or company, people were sad about what this could mean for the group.
It felt kind of weird to be having all these feelings about a group that I have never met personally, but I guess it makes sense since I’ve been enjoying their videos for so long. It’s similar to being sad when a character in a tv show is killed off or when the series ends and you are saying goodbye to al the characters. Even though the Try Guys are not actors, they are playing a role in their videos. We don’t know everything about them, just the side that they choose to share. But it does feel like we know them because they the line between their real self and online persona is very blurred.
I hope that the group finds a way to work through this time, whether they find a replacement for the person who was removed or not. I do want to continue to watch their videos and listen to their podcasts and that’s only possible if they can get past this time. And I also remember seeing videos about how hard they worked to build their company, so I guess the parasocial relationship side of me hopes that they do not lose everything that they have worked so hard for. Whatever happens to the group, I know that it won’t affect my life since I’m not directly connected to them. But I can still hope for the best for the people that I have watched online for years.
You Might Also Like
Adventures In Online Dating (or My Luck Might Be Changing)
Online Dating (or Finding Comedy in What’s Out There)
More Ridiculousness In Online Dating (or I Think I’ve Been Ghosted)
More Thoughts On Online Dating (or Not Letting My Past Dictate My Future)
Finding A Community (or Online Motivation)
My Love/Hate Relationship with the Scale (or Can I Drop Kick a Scale without Hurting Myself?)
