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It fascinates me how some people on social media nowadays actively seem to be weirded out when you attempt to actively interact with them, or to reply to their posts - as if they assume it’s a broadcast-first medium.

Shen-yi Liao 廖顯禕@liao.shen-yi.org

Other people have noticed this phenomenon too but danah boyd put the best slogan to it: social media is now parasocial media. Social media hasn't been social for a long while—how long depending on the platform, depending on the milieu. It's not folks sharing equally, but broadcasting and receiving.

journals.sagepub.comSocial Media Is Now Parasocial Media - danah boyd, 2026When practitioners used the term “social media” to describe the internet tools that emerged in the mid-aughts, they were giving a name to the kinds of platforms...

Faine Greenwood

@faineg.com

11 May

I primarily use social media because I genuinely talking with and meeting new people, and I do at least try to read and reply to all interactions. I find it interesting how many comments I’ve received from other social media users about how apparently unusual my online behavior is in 2026.

Kelsey Jo

@kelseyjo.bsky.social

12 May

I have noticed that Bluesky doesn’t seem as interactive as Twitter was, which is such a shame as I’ve met so many people through Twitter that it felt like a real community, both online and off. So far there hasn’t been a replacement for that, and maybe this is why?

Faine Greenwood

@faineg.com

I’ve found Bluesky even more interactive than Twitter was (and I was very interaction-forward on Twitter). I also have a number of friends who feel this way. Seems like a your mileage may vary scenario.

12/5/26, 9:23 pm0 reposts1 like

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