Tuvok

One of the things I enjoy about Voyager is that Tuvok gives the show a more consistent vulcan presence, which was missing in The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine (where the most memorable episode with vulcans put them at odds with Sisko, albeit in only a mildly antagonistic way). So it seems that Tuvok was the first new major vulcan character since Spock?  Anyway, vulcans are one of my favorite Star Trek aliens and Tim Russ did a great job getting the vulcan mannerisms down while imbuing his character with his own distinct personality.

Maquis in Star Trek

I have so many feelings about the Maquis in Star Trek, and I just don't even think I can articulate them all. But ever since I found out that the name was taken straight from real-life antifascist resistance groups, I've had...even more feelings about their narrative treatment in Trek.

Warning: Incoherent Scifi Thoughts Ahead

Currently in simultaneous 'obsessed with this' mode for both Star Wars and Star Trek, on the Star Trek end because I've watched a lot of Star Trek lately and found I really missed out on a lot the first time I watched the older shows. Have also seen a lot of the new Trek shows and have many Thoughts. Not sure if that will ever coelesce into much of anything, but it's definitely...there.

On the Star Wars end, there's Andor and also, to my surprise, Star Wars Visions. I have to admit, I didn't bother to watch Visions when Season 1 came out because while the animation looked impressive, I wasn't expecting to get much out of the stories.  I've watched them all now, and while there were definitely a fair few with little substance to them, there were also a few really thoughtful ones. Also quite a few I really enjoyed. There were a lot of interesting episodes that involve the Sith in some way, but I especially can't stop thinking about Screecher's Reach. Getting spoiled on that episode was actually what convinced me to watch Visions in the first place, and it remains my favorite of all the episodes. I also really like that there are so many miners in the different episodes. Just fascinated by how that is a significant element of the plot of more than one of the episodes, given that they are not otherwise related by their narratives or characters.

That's Not What Parasocial Means

 

While parasocial relationships can be a problem online, I think people sometimes incorrectly label relationships as parasocial.  A parasocial relationship isn't just any online relationship, or even any online relationship where two people don't talk to each other very much. It's not even any online relationship where the participants don't value each other equally, or where outright deception is involved. A relationship can also be built on a misunderstanding or be dysfunctional or otherwise bad without being parasocial (though dysfunctional parasocial relationships can also exist).

A parasocial relationship is a relationship that isn't real.  It's a feeling of familiarity built on a fantasy. The most obvious type is the devotion or obsession someone may have for a famous person who doesn't even know they exist.  Even if they've met you and talked to you, that's not the same as them being your friend (or other intimate companion...). You probably don't consider yourself as having a relationship with everyone you've ever talked with, either, even if you talked with them more than once. You probably don't even remember them all and wouldn't recognize some of them if you saw them again. If one of those people thought you were their best friend or that they were in a romantic relationship with you, that would be a parasocial relationship. Even if you did recognize them as 'someone I've seen before', if that's the extent of how you think of them and they spend half their day thinking about you, that is also a parasocial relationship. Parasocial relationships are inherently one-sided.

So while I do think social media does increase the number of such relationships and certain aspects of it encourage such relationships (eg. the greater focus on quantitative rather than qualitative interaction), I think many people have also developed a concept of parasocial relationships that labels their actual online relationships as parasocial. 

And I think that's a problem.