As the world progresses and continues to incorporate technology into the everyday weaving of life, it’s natural to question the consequences of such advancement and how they shape our moral, social, and political parameters. One particular facet of technology that I feel has done irreparable damage, is social media. It truly is a double edged sword; on one hand it allows everyone the chance to voice their opinions and be heard, a necessity in regards to the furtherance of rights and safeties for marginalized groups. On the other hand, social media gives everyone the ability to voice their opinions and be heard, which obviously includes those who oppose civil justice being delivered to people who are different from them. Social media has expanded the way that we interact with one another, allowing us access to people who we would otherwise never see or interact with. Furthermore, social media has given most a false sense of confidence and a confusion in which they believe that just because they can do something, it means they should and are entitled to do so. Thus we have an expedited emergence of parasocial relationships that tend to push stereotypical agendas in regards to race, gender, sexuality, etc.
A parasocial relationship refers to a one-sided tether that one creates, in which they devote their energy and emotions to someone who doesn’t even know they exist, to put it simply.(Cynthia. Hoffner, 2022) A lot of times we see parasocial relationships form between celebrities and their fans with stan culture being a prime example. I want to preface that there is nothing wrong with admiring an artist or their work. However, it has gotten to a point in which people genuinely believe they know the ins and outs of a person they have never met. Oftentimes, this is because the person is constantly being fed posts and other forms of information about whatever interests them, by the algorithm. So even though they’ve most likely never met the person they admire, they are in constant contact with them.
With that said, it is important to understand that parasocial relationships transcend the dynamic between mega fan and idol; it also applies to those who consume 30 second media and then apply what they see to entire marginalized groups. In our current political climate paired with social media usage, it does not take much to inspire discrimination towards certain groups of people. All it takes is for a certain demographic to see a 30 second clip of young black students dancing and celebrating at their graduation, to stimulate the misuse of the term black fatigue. A term that was initially created to encompass the vast stress and exhaustion that comes with living in a country that champions systematic racism, had become a discriminatory term against the very community that created it. All it takes, is one conversation discussing the liberties that immigrants deserve and the injustices they face, to breed negativity from those who are ignorant and hateful. These interactions then begin to seep into the physical of everyday life. It’s not just comments under a tiktok post, but micro and macro aggressions in public, police brutality, ICE raids. Social media allows for the circulation of stigma that encourages people to stay true to their biases and never confront their prejudice. Thus the cycle continues. And we still use social media. In a way it kind of reminds me of the ‘bad faith'(Jean-Paul Sartre.) The idea of critiquing social media but still somehow glamorizing it, just how cyberpunk critiques aspects of society such as corporate capitalism while still being interested in the aesthetic of it all.