It’s like watching sports, except you also have someone cracking jokes and being effectively a stand-up comedian.
But also, you’re assuming people always actively watch, which is not always the case. I tend to play a game on my main stream, while having a stream (or vod) open on another.
In addition, it’s also a bit like hanging out with a friend and watching them play. It’s basically sharing stuff and experiences with others, which is fun, even if you’re not a direct participant.
…and also, as the other commenter mentioned, there are games which you don’t really want to play, but are still interesting to watch.
except you also have someone cracking jokes and being effectively a stand-up comedian.
So sports
I think the weird thing is the people that see streamers like a friend rather than just picking a game they want to see and finding a stream without a face cam and a calm demeanour
Seeing a streamer as a friend is definitely getting into parasocial territory sure, but watching the same streamer all the time isn’t always unhealthy. People have specific sportscasters they prefer watching over others, it’s a similar concept with streamers. It’s not weird to enjoy one entertainer’s personality and content more than another’s.
Yeah man, nothings more parasocial than watching comedy. If you laugh at jokes a person tells with intent to make you laugh, thats a coping mechanism, and reddit tells me that makes it bad
It’s like watching sports, except you also have someone cracking jokes and being effectively a stand-up comedian.
But also, you’re assuming people always actively watch, which is not always the case. I tend to play a game on my main stream, while having a stream (or vod) open on another.
In addition, it’s also a bit like hanging out with a friend and watching them play. It’s basically sharing stuff and experiences with others, which is fun, even if you’re not a direct participant.
…and also, as the other commenter mentioned, there are games which you don’t really want to play, but are still interesting to watch.
So sports
I think the weird thing is the people that see streamers like a friend rather than just picking a game they want to see and finding a stream without a face cam and a calm demeanour
Seeing a streamer as a friend is definitely getting into parasocial territory sure, but watching the same streamer all the time isn’t always unhealthy. People have specific sportscasters they prefer watching over others, it’s a similar concept with streamers. It’s not weird to enjoy one entertainer’s personality and content more than another’s.
The term that wraps all this description up succinctly is “parasocial relationship” and it is not a healthy coping mechanism.
Yeah man, nothings more parasocial than watching comedy. If you laugh at jokes a person tells with intent to make you laugh, thats a coping mechanism, and reddit tells me that makes it bad