Click to text me what you got out of this episode. We've all been there—that awkward moment in the break room when you pretend to check your phone rather than make small talk with a coworker. Those seemingly trivial exchanges actually tap into something much deeper: our fundamental human need for connection and our equally powerful fear of rejection. Small talk isn't actually small at all. What feels like casual conversation is actually our brain navigating complex social territory. When you...
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Click to text me what you got out of this episode. We've all been there—that awkward moment in the break room when you pretend to check your phone rather than make small talk with a coworker. Those seemingly trivial exchanges actually tap into something much deeper: our fundamental human need for connection and our equally powerful fear of rejection. Small talk isn't actually small at all. What feels like casual conversation is actually our brain navigating complex social territory. When you...
Parasocial Relationships: Influencers, Followers and The Illusion of Friendship
Mental Health Potluck
21 minutes
8 months ago
Parasocial Relationships: Influencers, Followers and The Illusion of Friendship
Click to text me what you got out of this episode. The mysterious one-sided bond between followers and online personalities has a name: parasocial relationships. These connections feel intensely real, making us defend celebrities like Taylor Swift as if they're our actual friends, even though they have no idea we exist. Parasocial relationships aren't new—psychologists first identified them in 1956 when television viewers formed attachments to TV personalities. But social media has superchar...
Mental Health Potluck
Click to text me what you got out of this episode. We've all been there—that awkward moment in the break room when you pretend to check your phone rather than make small talk with a coworker. Those seemingly trivial exchanges actually tap into something much deeper: our fundamental human need for connection and our equally powerful fear of rejection. Small talk isn't actually small at all. What feels like casual conversation is actually our brain navigating complex social territory. When you...
