Hot Take: Parasocial Relationships Are Getting Out Of Hand

I seriously think the internet is starting to rot our brains. I went on Twitter the other day (I am refusing to call it X), and it left a sour taste in my mouth. This does not feel like the same internet I knew and loved. Everything seems a mess, and everyone is angry about something. Hell; I get it. I am angry about a lot of things too, but many people will just say anything these days! In particular, I’ve noticed people feel a sense of entitlement toward celebrities, internet figures, etc., and I think it is beginning to tip the iceberg.

In a post-#MeToo world, it is now very normal to utilize mass media as a method of keeping people safe and keeping others accountable. In many cases, I applaud this effort and think that holding people accountable for dangerous and immoral behavior is one of the many benefits of the little computers we keep in our pockets. But the question now is “What are we holding people accountable for?” In the beginning, “cancelization” was for people who spread hateful rhetoric or used their power to physically harm others. But now, I see a celebrity canceled nearly every other day for something that takes ten tweets and a whole YouTube video to explain. And each time I find myself sitting here thinking, I do not know these people.