Blurring the Line Between Social and Parasocial Relationships

Sample

In a Lifehack article, Poole (2019) poses a familiar question about social media connections: “The average person has about double the amount [sic] of friends online as they do in real life. But how is that a friendship? And why do we feel connected/important to these strangers?” (para. 3). This conundrum has led to calls to “purge” your friend list, eye rolls from nonusers of social media, and even dramatic posts begging followers to comment or be deleted from the user’s friend list.