4 ms·

I can't believe my eyes. Am I just too old? Some random persons shows herself in 5 different shirts or shows herself sitting all day on the balcony? Why is that

I can't believe my eyes. Am I just too old? Some random persons shows herself in 5 different shirts or shows herself sitting all day on the balcony? Why is that interesting and so many people want to watch this?

GarvielLoken 7y ago
Have fun at the retirement home grandpa!
- mothsonasloth 7y ago
  Get off my lawn!
- dang 7y ago
  Please don't do this here.
majos 7y ago
My conjecture, for which I offer no proof: people get a lot of utility from friendship, especially if that friendship is with someone popular/fun/cool/beautiful. People are also not very good at distinguishing "I see this person on a screen every day and it's like we're hanging out" from "I hang out with this person every day". Way back when this effect played out in the way people connected with the people on their favorite TV shows. If anything, it's compounded now, since you can watch these people do normal hangout stuff like "sitting all day on the balcony". That stuff used to be reserved for friends and family, or at least acquaintances. So we still attach a special feeling to taking part in it. Again, this is most true when we see the person as cool. Might even be further compounded by the rise of actual friendships (i.e., two-way streets) that mostly play out online -- if many of your interactions with actual friends occur over Instagram, it's easier to see "I see person x's Instagram posts" as a kind of friendship. These are just guesses. I follow some people on YouTube, but they're all very skilled practitioners of at least one of my hobbies, and I'm not into their sporadic "my life outside my hobby/vlog" videos. Also, on reflection, I probably stole most of these ideas from an old essay David Foster Wallace wrote about television, "E Unibus Pluram" [1]. [1] https://jsomers.net/DFW_TV.pdf https://jsomers.net/DFW_TV.pdf
- number101010 7y ago
  I have noticed this effect in myself while watching streamers on Twitch. You start to feel like you're sitting on a couch with your buddy playing a game.
  - celticmusic 7y ago
    perhaps this is why I've never been able to get into streamers. About the only online content of that type I've been able to consume is HCBailey's lets play series, and that's because he does old school FF, et al, and I enjoy the nostalgia. It's more about the game than the person, although I think he does a great job. But otherwise, the entire culture of watching other people online is weird to me.
- pjc50 7y ago
  I've heard this described as "parasocial interaction".
davidcollantes 7y ago
I don't watch it, don't find it appealing, but I don't watch "reality shows" either, and consider them pure rubbish. I think videos like hers are very close to reality shows. Many people like those, right? They just simply entertain a range of viewers. If you have children, or younger siblings, you will know they consume those like candies. Is it generational? I don't think so, unless "Internet, Youtube, Social Media... etc." is counted as a generation--which might as well be.
zzzcpan 7y ago
There are many reasons why independently created vlog-style content could be more appealing to many people. It's more relatable, not predictable, more current, there is more variety, fewer restrictions, much less propaganda (no pushing diversity, minorities, no pro-government, pro-police, pro-military propaganda, etc.). Why so many people still want to watch hollywood movies is what I would ask instead.

GarvielLoken 7y ago

Have fun at the retirement home grandpa!

mothsonasloth 7y ago
Get off my lawn!
dang 7y ago
Please don't do this here.

majos 7y ago

My conjecture, for which I offer no proof: people get a lot of utility from friendship, especially if that friendship is with someone popular/fun/cool/beautiful. People are also not very good at distinguishing "I see this person on a screen every day and it's like we're hanging out" from "I hang out with this person every day". Way back when this effect played out in the way people connected with the people on their favorite TV shows. If anything, it's compounded now, since you can watch these people do normal hangout stuff like "sitting all day on the balcony". That stuff used to be reserved for friends and family, or at least acquaintances. So we still attach a special feeling to taking part in it. Again, this is most true when we see the person as cool. Might even be further compounded by the rise of actual friendships (i.e., two-way streets) that mostly play out online -- if many of your interactions with actual friends occur over Instagram, it's easier to see "I see person x's Instagram posts" as a kind of friendship. These are just guesses. I follow some people on YouTube, but they're all very skilled practitioners of at least one of my hobbies, and I'm not into their sporadic "my life outside my hobby/vlog" videos. Also, on reflection, I probably stole most of these ideas from an old essay David Foster Wallace wrote about television, "E Unibus Pluram" [1]. [1] https://jsomers.net/DFW_TV.pdf https://jsomers.net/DFW_TV.pdf

number101010 7y ago
I have noticed this effect in myself while watching streamers on Twitch. You start to feel like you're sitting on a couch with your buddy playing a game.
- celticmusic 7y ago
  perhaps this is why I've never been able to get into streamers. About the only online content of that type I've been able to consume is HCBailey's lets play series, and that's because he does old school FF, et al, and I enjoy the nostalgia. It's more about the game than the person, although I think he does a great job. But otherwise, the entire culture of watching other people online is weird to me.
pjc50 7y ago
I've heard this described as "parasocial interaction".

davidcollantes 7y ago

I don't watch it, don't find it appealing, but I don't watch "reality shows" either, and consider them pure rubbish. I think videos like hers are very close to reality shows. Many people like those, right? They just simply entertain a range of viewers. If you have children, or younger siblings, you will know they consume those like candies. Is it generational? I don't think so, unless "Internet, Youtube, Social Media... etc." is counted as a generation--which might as well be.

zzzcpan 7y ago

There are many reasons why independently created vlog-style content could be more appealing to many people. It's more relatable, not predictable, more current, there is more variety, fewer restrictions, much less propaganda (no pushing diversity, minorities, no pro-government, pro-police, pro-military propaganda, etc.). Why so many people still want to watch hollywood movies is what I would ask instead.