Social media and "parasocial media"

Drew DeVault reflects on why content creators migrating from Twitter to Mastodon often feel unsatisfied. He argues that platforms like YouTube and Twitter are 'parasocial media' — optimized for one-directional creator-to-audience relationships and algorithmic reach — while the fediverse is designed for genuine two-way social interaction. He contends this distinction is a feature, not a bug, and that creators seeking maximum audience growth are simply using the wrong tool for their goals.