Everyday life can feel boring. That’s why we flee to the vast internet instead of being trapped in our own mundane lives.

We immerse ourselves in the online lives of more interesting people, from posts by ultra-rich celebrities to social media influencers.

But sometimes, our connections with others online run too deep.

First, we find someone online we like and follow their account. Then, we start taking notice, appreciating their personality, and ultimately using their content as an escape from ourselves.

However, issues arise when we become too involved, mistaking someone online as being a close friend, feeling as though their life is entangled with our own and like we have a personal stake in their life decisions.

This phenomenon is known as a parasocial relationship: someone developing a one-sided close relationship with someone they do not know, often celebrities or media personalities, according to Psychology Today.

In a scientific study conducted by the National Library of Medicine, it was reported that 57 percent of adolescent participants believed a chosen celebrity to be someone they had a relationship with.

With the upward momentum of social media amongst teens, it has become easier for us to latch onto celebrities and influencers who share behind the scenes content of their daily lives in the form of TikTok, Snapchat stories, or Instagram reels. Often, these relationships can develop unknowingly, as the algorithm feeds content to lonely teens, stimulating an unhealthy obsession and monetizing their attention.

These influencers are not innocent, as they often portray themselves to be. They purposely manufacture content to attract teens, convincing them to fall into a unhealthy connections.

Parasocial relationships are not only easy to fall victim to, but are also extremely detrimental to the development of teens. Emotionally linking oneself to an online figure at a young age can harm mental growth, according to the National Library of Medicine.

These unhealthy relationships often fall through, causing a break from reality. Recently, it was leaked that a YouTube channel with over 300 million subscribers, Mr. Beast, was exaggerating his humanitarian efforts and trying to manipulate his young audience into gambling their money away. Previously, many had been fooled by his philanthropic persona, causing viewers to be shocked by his true cruel personality.

There is a lesson we can all take away from this: we must understand that we do not truly know online personalities, especially noton a personal level.

When scrolling online, it is not a crime to indulge and enjoy internet personalities and their content, but you should make judgements based on logical reasoning and not emotion while navigating the internet.

Keep in mind, you do not know celebrities; you only know the persona they choose to share with their fans.