Parasocial Communities
Description
Daniel Tutt explains:
"In the absence of civil society and political associations, micro-communities form online around public figures, and this takes on a “parasocial” quality. Parasocial communities are in many ways more intense than purely social communities because they are forged in the liminal comfort of online spaces. While relationships formed online are typically noncommittal and passive, political micro-communities on the left—precisely because the left tends to be composed of people who have themselves been radicalized and who experience alienation from this system—tend to forge more passionate connections. The power of these parasocial communities should not be underestimated; it is more likely that a young person will change their minds about political theory, power and social reality from exposure to a podcaster and their micro-community than through experiences at college with professors. Micro-communities are more than mere education hubs—the leaders can take on the role of a spiritual coach as much as an intellectual. They provide sense-making, allowing for the development of an ideological lens by which to make coherent the politics of our world."
(https://muftah.org/2024/12/31/loser-politics/)