What's the very limits of understanding a friend's social media presence before it becomes like stalking? What about when they're not your friend, but instead someone you've formed a parasocial relationship with?
Most of the time when I hear about something that's happened to a friend I'll hear it from their mouth, they'll talk to me about it. Every now and again I'll open my phone and see a picture here and there. I almost never bring up what they said in their caption when we talk, unless they bring it up and I get to go "Oh yeah, I remember seeing that post you made." or something like that. Meanwhile with people who aren't my friends, who don't know that I exist in most cases, I'll mention things that I've seen them make all the time. Why is that? It seems like I'd have more right to get to know someone I'm already close with, but it just feels ten times as icky when I single out things they've posted and look through them compared to people I'm not friends with. Is it friendly to be a fan? Am I hurting all of these people? Why do I want people to do that to me? I feel tricked into this.
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