Parasocial relationships are embarrassingly common these days. Almost every celebrity’s comment sections on social media are constantly filled with overly personal questions and assumptions. Actors and actresses are bombarded about their dating lives, and singers are hounded about their next musical release. 

Scrolling through these comments feels surreal—when did we all get so comfortable with making demands from people we don’t know? 

Being a fan of a celebrity is normal. Wanting to know more about that celebrity’s life is normal. What’s not normal is demanding answers to questions that are overly intrusive or personal. We are not entitled to receive content from celebrities. Be it posts from themselves or of their partners, nobody owes you anything. 

When a celebrity doesn’t post about their partner for a certain amount of time, fans immediately assume they’ve broken up. As their speculation spreads, the rumors grow and become harder to ignore. Eventually, that couple ends up leaving social media entirely. 

When singers don’t release new music “fast enough,” their “fans” begin flooding them with requests for new content. There’s absolutely no regard for the fact that making music takes time, or that these are real people who may not have time to churn out a new album every few months.

No matter the celebrity, one thing seems constant across all fanbases: people aren’t grateful for what content they do get. One post isn’t enough. One album isn’t sufficient. Everybody’s always asking for more. When new content finally does arrive, people have set their expectations so high that even that content isn’t good enough. 

The bottom line is, celebrities and artists are human beings with human circumstances to navigate. We can’t expect constant streams of updates or content from people who are living their lives the same way we are. Content isn’t owed to us. It isn’t our right to listen to new music, or see new Instagram posts, or watch new movies. 

Social media is meant to be a forum for expression. For us and celebrities to share parts of our lives when we want to. Similarly, art is expression. For singers and actors, their art is their creative way of expressing themselves. When that art becomes such a commodity that strangers are constantly expecting more of it, the value fades, and the expression becomes artificial. 

Gratitude isn’t present enough today. However, the golden rule we learned growing up still rings true: treat others the way you want to be treated. Fame doesn’t dehumanize anyone, and our expectations shouldn’t either. 

The views in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of the HiLite staff. Reach Emma Hu at [email protected].