Earlier quoted context omitted.
After you've watched a person enough on YouTube or Twitch you start feeling that you know them (even though it's completely unidirectional). I think there is a term for this but it's for sure an established phenomena. At that point it feels like watching friends do stuff I guess
I get that. Humans can get close to anything or anyone. But to get there, you have to spend time doing so before it happens. Which means you have to watch many videos where somebody is explaining their school day or reacting to a movie trailer before you get to that point.
Indeed, which is exactly what these creators do. I've watched a few of their videos before and I can't get over how...mundane their content is. There really is nothing of actual substance there. But I assume watching more of that content over time cultivates the same feeling as bullshitting with your friends, hence the parasocial relationship forms.