>>15774587>>15774592Zoomers (and young millennials) are the loneliest generation of humans that have existed to date. People had never been more isolated than they were in 2019, and covid in 2020 actually made things worse - a lot worse. That fact cannot be stressed enough: humans have never, ever, in all of human history, been as isolated as they are today.
Enter streamers, youtubers, and e-celebs. Or how they're affectionately referred to by everyone outside of the bubble: friend simulators. Viewers develop close, sometimes intimately personal relationships with streamers who are broadcasting not just to them, but to potentially tens of thousands of other people. But because of the format of streaming, for a lonely 15 year old sitting in his room by himself for the 400th day in a row, it feels like this streamer is actually just talking to him. He feels like a friend.
It's called parasocial interaction. It's a concept that's existed since mass media came into being, but it's never existed at this level before.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasocial_interactionYou know how American networks covering the Olympics have commentators talking literally the entire time during the events? Old people (particularly in the United States) are lonely, incredibly lonely. And they have been for a long time. The major networks realized they could keep old people watching the Olympics a lot longer if they just made one change: commentators on the events, talking constantly.
The reason why they do that with the Olympics and the reason why streamers are so incredibly popular is the same: it makes those lonely viewers feel like they have a friend.
