In 2006, most people who logged into the large platforms posted content because they were co-constructing sociable spaces to enjoy the companionship of others. In 2026, posting has waned (John, 2024); most social media users prioritize scrolling ‘amateur’ content rather than posting their own haphazard updates for friends. The quality of the media on social media has become more strategically constructed, more intentionally curated, and more professional. Users are now lucky to see personal content that their friends are posting amid the slick content created by the advertisers and strategic creators who dominate most people’s feeds. What goes ‘viral’ is now often manufactured in a lab, designed to appeal (Hund, 2023; Mears, 2023). Given the trajectories of the various platforms, this makes sense. In a world of algorithms, highly polished content is rewarded. And: Parasociality plays a more central role in today’s platforms than it once did. But parasocial relationships are a type of trickster. Attending to parasocial connections may be pleasurable for consumers, but doing so does not strengthen the collective social fabric. It is possible to experience loneliness despite spending hours emotionally engaged with others' dramas if those interactions are not reciprocated. Even those who are producing content for the parasocial world struggle to navigate the contorted forms of intimacy that abound (Glatt, 2024). Friendship requires reciprocity and compassion. Parasocial media creates the conditions for people to objectify one another at a distance as mediatized objects, helping realize the different layers of toxicity that social media scholars document (Bailey, 2022; Banet-Weiser & Miltner, 2016; Suarez Estrada et al., 2022; Wong et al., 2025). So when people opt to devote their energy to tracking the latest TikTok star or scrolling content instead of nurturing interpersonal relationships, they are effectively amusing themselves to death.
Finally:
I think that it’s time that we deprecate the label ‘social media’ and begin to recognize that we are dealing with an era of ‘parasocial media.'"
From: “Social Media Is Now Parasocial Media2026,", danah boyd, April, 2026.