Parasocial relationships are nothing new. In fact, the past couple of years have seen lots of discourse about these relationships, calling out creators and fans for overstepping boundaries or exploiting them. A parasocial relationship refers to an imagined relationship, usually between a fan and a famous person, whether that be a content creator or A-lister.Â
Some of these relationships can be dangerous. For example Jodie Foster famously had a stalker who, in an attempt to get her to notice him, attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan. A less extreme and more recent viral example can be seen in Tyler Catastrophe, who moved from the U.S. to Brighton U.K. in order to be closer to his favorite musician/creator, Wilbur Soot.
Recently, popular podcast H3H3 announced it would be going on an indefinite hiatus. A day later, the host, Ethan Klein’s, wife and frequent guest, Hila, posted on Instagram announcing the end of their marriage due to an affair Ethan had been having for over 6 months. This news broke the internet, as haters rejoiced and fans mourned the end. People determined that the person who Ethan was having an affair with was an animator who worked for him, Tamara. This was especially ironic, as there were many clips of Ethan criticizing another YouTuber, Ned Fulmer, who was in a very similar situation to Ethan a couple of years ago with Ethan heavily criticizing and talking about how disgusting Ned’s actions were. The fact that Ethan was another internet “wife guy” and had a tattoo of his wife’s face with the words “the best thing a father can do for his children is love their mother”, only made the situation more ironic and worse.Â
While many rejoiced, as H3H3 had become quite polarizing towards the end of its run, some mourned the end of the channel that had been around since the “golden” days of YouTube. H3H3, which originally started as a skit and reaction channel, has been around since 2011, with a podcast channel starting in 2017. In 2020, Ethan hosted a podcast with internet personality Trisha Paytas, but that would end in June of 2021. After their podcast ended, Ethan would start to see a slow decline, as his views became more polarizing and his shift into politics would cause many fans to stop watching. However, despite the overall negative opinion of Ethan held by a majority of the internet, H3H3 would still have a loyal and dedicated audience.Â
Now, with the cheating scandal, many of these loyal audience members are turning their back on the channel, but not before voicing how Ethan’s betrayal has affected them. Fans have managed to turn a private event that has blown up a family and was only made public because of convenience into an event that has personally caused all of them harm. They are acting like they are a part of the family, and are sharing how this has hurt them. I’ve seen some people saying that this is the worst thing that’s ever happened to them. While I’m sure people are exaggerating, I do think this is just another example of parasocial relationships going too far. Just because you watch 3-4 hours of someone’s life 2 times a week does not mean you know them. I’m sure it’s easy to get sucked up into believing that these people are your friends, with all their talk about how everyone who watches is a part of a family, and getting to know information about them that probably shouldn’t be public, but it’s important to remember that you are just a number to these people. You are just a username that will add money into these people’s pockets and they will say and do anything to make sure that you stick around, because you are how these people make a living. So, next time you scroll through Instagram or watch your favorite YouTuber, make sure to remember that you don’t really know them, they are not your friend, and to remember that all that stuff that they tell you is just so that you’ll stick around.