>>53248072>but the moment you satisfy this need by getting into a circle of friends of your level where you can hang outWell therein lies the big fat hook on Vtubing.
Vtubing as a cultural institution is not about """""""Entertainment"""""""" in the base sense of the word, it's an Otaku oriented rehabilitation service for the Hikikomori inclined to get "tricked" into developing the basic human emotion circuit that they are normally deprived of by grafting it onto a parasocial target and then having it reciprocally imprinted back onto themselves so they can have the basic "Human" operating system to reintegrate into society.
Japan being the progenitor of the medium has a more domestic, home grown, tangible solution to this problem via the "Rent-A-Sister" program but for the several maladaptive/isolated/what have you, and as a matter of mass distribution of the services Vtubers serve as a superior product. Shiina is probably the strongest asset in this regard, giving broad heavily broadcasted emotional addresses that are able to evocatively imprint the process back onto the viewer. Her constant disclosure and gentleness with which she goes about the process after eliciting the response from a viewer is an astounding talent to have. Genuine (or perhaps compensated actors) stepping in to convey their own relationship to the process also goes a long way in "manufacturing" a "relatable experience" for an otherwise detached viewer to attempt to integrate into their own emotional toolkit.
Lia's cringy Persona fanfic female projecting mumble mumble was a good not so subtle nod at the process they're utilizing to promote this rehabilitative maneuver.
