This episode of the podcast explores a term that has leapt from academic journals into our daily lives—from the illusion of companionship offered by television presenters in 1956 to today's millions watching influencers eat breakfast. That term is 'parasocial' (a one-way emotional connection), recently crowned Cambridge Dictionary's Word of the Year. It reveals the digital age's most paradoxical truth: The intimacy we share with strangers on the other side of the screen may far exceed that with our real-life neighbours. With AI companions on 24-hour standby and fans collectively losing sleep over their idols' romantic entanglements, this frictionless emotional substitute is reshaping the landscape of modern loneliness. Is this the antidote to social anxiety, or merely a substitute for genuine relationships? Why does increasingly sophisticated technology designed to make us feel understood paradoxically leave younger generations less equipped to navigate interpersonal conflicts?