Parasocial Relationships: Does Ned from the Try Guys owe you an explanation?
The concept of a parasocial relationship was first brought about in the 1950s and was described as our human tendency to create “intimacy at a distance.” In today’s digital age, content creators and influencers often make their personal lives and relationships very public. Many YouTubers influencers post daily vlogs and have introduced their close friends and significant others into their content, almost creating a separate digital universe for their viewers. This has resulted in viewers getting increasingly invested in the personal lives of their favorite YouTubers and forming a “one-way” relationship with them. After a point, it is impossible for fans to distinguish between the content and the content creator.
The most recent YouTuber drama involves the Try Guys, four creators who got their start at BuzzFeed in the early 2010s. The four guys, Zach, Keith, Eugene and Ned try out various unconventional and daring activities (such as baking desserts without recipes or swimming with sharks) and they’ve amassed a huge fan following on YouTube. Each of them has an exaggerated online persona in their videos and Ned’s is based around how much his wife means to him. He has mentioned his wife in numerous videos, and she has made recurring appearances in Try Guys videos and even started a podcast affiliated with the Try Guys brand name. Furthermore, Ned also released a “date night” recipe book with his wife which further complemented his persona as the “nice wide guy.” Recently, video evidence was released online which indicated that Ned had an extramarital affair with a subordinate producer who is also often featured on the Try Guys channel, and is part of their “universe”. This resulted in a massive outcry by fans who felt personally betrayed and the Try Guys and Ned had to come forward with separate official statements addressing the same.
Social networks formed by parasocial relationships are fascinating because thousands of people have a one-way connection to the celebrity in question. In this case, hundreds of users who have probably never met each other, and may never cross paths again, are on the same Twitter threads because they are so invested in Ned’s personal life without having ever met him in-person.
This parasocial network with Ned as a central node also leads to an interesting question about power dynamics: Who really holds the power in a parasocial relationship? One could argue that the answer is obviously the influencer in-question since thousands of their fans are watching their content, purchasing the products they promote and buying into the ideas they stand for. However, a very valid counterargument is that content viewers and fans, like yourself, actually hold all the power because you get to decide which YouTubers you like. Your outrage at Ned’s actions because you genuinely believed that he loved his wife and was a family man through-and-through has power in determining the course of his career.
Sources:
https://www.findapsychologist.org/parasocial-relationships-the-nature-of-celebrity-fascinations/