Mashable has an interesting piece up about people who are obsessed with celebrities on social media. And we don’t mean like, “Oh, I follow Kim Kardashian’s Instagram,” but rather “I spent 15 hours a day refreshing 50 Shades Of Grey star Jamie Dornan’s social media accounts in the hopes that maybe he sees my name once.” A weird phenomenon that has really just cropped up in the past five to ten years, desperately seeking a celebrity’s social media attention can spark what psychotherapists call “parasocial relationships” where fans feel they “know” a celebrity through what they’re posting online. But, as Dr. Aaron Balick tells Mashable, “While it’s true that it’s easier to connect with [celebrities] than ever before, the feeling of connection tends to lie much more in the fan than the celebrity. (After all, there can be thousands of fans, and only one celebrity.)”
Check out the article over on Mashable’s site so you can feel both superior and educated the next time you see a million “FIRST F1RST FIRST” comments on whatever Beyoncé’s posting on Instagram.