The one-sided intimacy of being a fan

Taylor Swift greets fans during the MTV Video Music Awards at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on September 12, 2023. | Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images A Vox reader asks: What exactly are parasocial relationships and why are they so prevalent now? Here’s a hypothetical scenario: You hear your favorite podcasters every day. You know their voices by heart. They’re chatty and relatable, and they casually reveal all the details of their lives — and what they don’t say on the podcast you can easily pick up from following their social media accounts. Eventually, you start to