>>66697606Why do you think holomembers joke about being comedians?
But on the whole I agree with you. Anyone who thinks vtubers (or streamers in general really) would be even a fraction as popular as they are today without their viewers being parasocial are kidding themselves.
Personally, I can tell you that I started watching Fauna because of how endearing and cute she is and how I wanted to kiss and marry her. I still think and want all those things, but I'm also impressed at how well she manages banter and jokes. She's entertaining, even if I didn't have parasocial feelings for her.
Would I still watch her without any parasocial feelings involved? Maybe, maybe not. To me it was like a foot in the door that made me stick around for long enough to appreciate her other qualities. But without it, I probably wouldn't have had much interest to begin with.
There's literally nothing wrong with being parasocial, it's entirely natural. It's important to understand your limits and accept that your feelings will probably never be reciprocated, but it's not inherently bad.
It's ironic how some of the more parasocial viewers are the first ones to cast stones at others. ("OMG, how dare you talk to my beloved streamer like that you parasocial fucks!") 