Bonus: The Psychology Behind Parasocial Relationships (Cracks in the Fandom)

This bonus episode is a chance to step back and make sense of everything that just unfolded in Cracks in the Fandom. If you listened to the series, you saw how an Instagram unfollow spiraled into harassment, infighting, and full-on chaos inside the SVU fandom. This series was petty, confusing , and pretty revealing about how people form attachments online. I wanted to understand why this happens. Why someone can feel personally betrayed by an actor they don't even know. So I reached out to Bradley J. Bond, a professor at the University of San Diego who studies parasocial relationships for a living. He breaks down what these one-sided bonds actually are, why they feel real, and how they can slide from harmless to unhealthy faster than we think. Copyright Takedown Update:My attorney has already filed a counterclaim. Patreon will let me put the episodes back up after the standard 10-business-day window. And Spotify is working on restoring the episodes promptly. I’ll keep you updated. Thank you for supporting the show. Without you, I couldn't fight these frivolous legal challenges. Javier Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices