To quote something I literally read 5 minutes ago in "Perhaps the Stars":

"everyone has relationships with people far away, who inspire, entertain, role models, and also the people we work so hard for: fans, viewers, the next generation, kids somewhere, posterity. I think those asymmetrical relationships are part of what it means to be human, part of the teamwork. Humanity is teamwork. And the asymmetry doesn’t for a second make those relationships any less valid, or less important, or less real"

I don't know the book beyond the quick google I just did, but I disagree with:

>And the asymmetry doesn’t for a second make those relationships any less valid, or less important, or less real.

I think that people developing these so-called parasocial relationships is probably not harmful until it becomes a substitute for them developing "real" ones. But I see that growing rapidly, and I think it's a problem in the future.

Just because you can magically send some digits to someone thousands miles away you never saw IRL doesn’t mean your brain is designed for it nor is able to handle it without disruptions to its operation. Whether you believe in creation or evolution. Nobody lived like this.

>And the asymmetry doesn’t for a second make those relationships any less valid, or less important, or less real.

Not in a author/reader sense, no. But in a social media age where influencers use specific language to appear friendly and familiar? At the very least it's blurring the lines.

That's just sugar coating hero worship and trying to make it more acceptable.

Just because something is written in flowery language doesn't make it profound.