The Juice & the Squeeze

The term “parasocial relationships” has been thrown out a lot lately, and for good reason. When your Instagram feed features a photo of your best friend from high school immediately followed by a celebrity selfie, it’s hard to differentiate your relationship with both of those people. After all, they’re sharing the same kind of intimate things with you, aren’t they?

But you can meet your buddy for a beer tomorrow if you want. You probably couldn’t hit up Oscar Isaac for coffee. And if you can, we’d love to join you.

Still, these blurred lines can cause issues. People feel a strange sense of entitlement about celebrities’ personal lives. Take John Mulaney, for example, whose recent divorce and new relationship after getting out of rehab has caused an uproar among his fans. 

Over the years, John Mulaney has seemingly brought his fans into his personal world, talking publicly in his comedy shows about his marriage, saying things like, “I would never say that, not even as a joke, my wife is a bitch and I don’t like her. That is not true. My wife is a bitch and I like her so much. She is a dynamite, 5-foot, Jewish bitch and she’s the best.”

Remember that this statement was in context of a comedy show performance. Off stage, out of the limelight, we don’t know what anyone’s life is like. 

Our perceived relationships with celebrities, well, they aren’t real. And let’s be honest, it would absolutely suck to open Twitter and see thousands of people speculating about your relationships and insulting your new partner, especially when you’re trying to start a family and find happiness. 

Plus, at the end of the day, who cares? Why waste time thinking about some stranger’s relationships when we’d do better by investing in the real ones we have in our own lives?

Okay, okay, we’re preaching to the choir. The point is, this is just one example of how our relationships have been skewed by the internet and social media. And without trying to sound like a Black Mirror episode, we have to acknowledge that this is a problem, especially when our investment in famous people’s lives becomes more important than our investment in our lives. 

If John Mulaney and Olivia Munn are happy, then good for them! Let them be happy. If they aren’t, then oh well. Let the people close to them help them through that. 

Our goal is and has always been to put the focus back on real people and their real relationships, to help people make genuine connections and form meaningful bonds. So do yourself a favor, and leave John Mulaney alone. Leave Britney alone. Leave Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Idris Elba, Zendaya, Ariana Grande, and Taylor Swift alone. 

Focus on you and what you have, and odds are, you’ll be a lot happier because of it.