Context Collapse

Episode 3: Oversharing isn't Necessarily Caring

Gather around, parasocialites, and let's learn about boundaries. Or hard lines. Or, sometimes, slightly wiggly lines that may need to be redrawn every now and then. In this episode, we're discussing the subtle art of thinking about your online persona as separate from your full self. We also get into some worst-case scenarios to illustrate why thinking ahead is important. Listen on to find out: does Michele have any clue what her degree is actually in? What injury did Kim used to fantasize about getting? Why did your favorite #relationshipgoals couple announce a divorce when you thought they were perfect? Check in with yourselves and listen along with us. Note: this is a re-release of the third episode, as it was originally published with a slight error included.

Episode 2: Almost Famous Parasocialites

Join us for a dive into the research about fame, parasocial relationships, and the behind-the-scenes world of content creators. We're taking you into the deep end for a spell so that going forward, we can all be on the same page as we talk insights and solutions. Some questions we explore include: How is an a-list actor different from a high profile Renaissance scholar? What's it like to serve your fans coffee? Are all parasocial relationships toxic and pathetic? Listen to find out. (The first version of this episode went out with truncated audio. This is the full episode.)

Episode 1: Into the Collapse

Hey there, citizens of the internet, we're Michele (PhD) and Kim (LICSW) and we want to talk about how weird and complicated and messy it is to make content online. We grew up next door to each other and have been best friends as long as Kim has been alive (Michele is older so she had a few lonely Kimless years. We don't talk about those dark times). In this, our inaugural episode, we introduce ourselves, our podcast, and our vision of what we'd like to talk about going forward. Answered questions include (but are not limited to): what is an "online creator" anyway?; what does "context collapse" even mean?; who or what is a "business ghost"?; what is "scandoval" and why doesn't an alleged media expert know about it? Join us, won't you?

Introducing Context Collapse

Making content online is way more difficult to navigate than it seems on the surface. We're a therapist (Kim) and a social scientist (Michele) and we want to try to help.