Social media platforms amplify parasocial one-sided fan intimacies while also enabling abuse.

Evidence

The participatory nature of social media also elevated fans’ own status, as they could now directly interact with “stars.” This fueled parasocial relationships, in which fans felt one-sided intimacy with their idols. As Amanda Montell observed, platforms like Instagram and TikTok bridged “the parasocial gap,” creating the illusion that a star like Taylor Swift might respond to a fan’s comment in the manner of “the almighty saint answering her believer’s prayer.” This accessibility, however, also opened the door to abuse, allowing fans to hurl insults with little consequence. — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 558

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s knowledge of celebrity studies and status dynamics; also relates to death-of-the-sellout mechanism threads in Marx’s book. — connects to: Audiences form one-sided intimate bonds with media personalities called parasocial relations — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity: Understanding Fame…, 74