I highly recommend this video (documentary?) on parasocial relationships. It's really made me think about how I've interacted with social media very recently and throughout my life.
CW for this thread: social anxiety, parasocial relationships, social repression
For many people, myself included, social media has been a way to discover that you are not alone in your experiences and that your feelings are valid. Representation is important and social media is literally representation of everyone.
Online communities (especially on YouTube) have personally helped me find the vocabulary to understand my gender identity and realize that it wasn't something that made me abnormal or that I should be ashamed of.
But again, social media is representation for everyone, including communities that had the exact opposite effect on me, contributing to years of shame and repression.
As someone with social anxiety, I also know that social media can feel like an easy replacement for actual human interactions at points where I'm especially anxious or lonely.
I'm definitely someone who has wasted hours on Twitter and YouTube simply because it felt easier than the anxiety of a real interaction or facing any of the actual problems or responsibilities I need to deal with.
There's also interaction with online creators. There have been points where I have taken a perverse pleasure in tweeting at someone I'm a fan of, knowing that they will see it and possibly respond, without considering what it would be like as a person to receive those tweets.
I've tricked myself into thinking that's a real human connection when it's really just a self-serving validation of a fictionalized version of someone I've created in my head. I'll listen to podcasts or watch YouTube videos and place myself into conversations that are not mine.
There are definitely far far more extreme cases than mine, but it's still unhealthy and it's something I harbor real guilt about. Ultimately social media is a tool, and like any tool there are right and wrong ways to use it.
And with social media being as vast as it is, that can be a very difficult thing to navigate.
In addition to the video linked, here are some pieces of media that have helped me in considering how I use social media and navigating parasocial relationships: The Beginners Guide, Dear Evan Hansen, Bo Burnham: Make Happy, Ingrid Goes West, Eighth Grade
