Most fans deep in the shit will say that the whole idea is to "play a character", which did make sense... when it was a novelty. It's possible people feel more comfortable with a virtual mask-wearers than knowing there's another human being on the other side, because of the whole reality/fiction disconnect. However, the parasocial aspect that was already a problem with Youtubers can be compounded by that disconnect, which has resulted in a more visceral reaction towards some of the simp behavior. Really, it's eCeleb/Youtubers but with voice-acting talent role-playing as fictional characters in front of an online (some terminally-online) audience.
I saw quite a bit of Kizuna/Kaguya etc. early on as it seemed a cool idea to do live-motion capture on a person, showing the advancement in technology. But my interest soured as, of course, companies dedicated to the shit followed after very quickly, with videogame streams and superchats, not unlike how Youtube started monetizing their popular users a decade ago. The streaming fits right into the Zoomer/post-Zoomer habit of wasting time watching other people accomplish things. It's also extended into its own gamut of fan-artistry and I've seen decently talented people just ride into that abyss and waste their abilities on it.
It could be more toxic to the mind than watching human Youtubers depending on the person, so I put it slightly towards the "detrimental to humanity" bucket, but so is being on the Internet too much anyway... You could also argue watching Youtube is no different than Boomers sitting in front of a TV, people like to be entertained when vegging.
Most fans deep in the shit will say that the whole idea is to "play a character", which did make sense... when it was a novelty. It's possible people feel more comfortable with a virtual mask-wearers than knowing there's another human being on the other side, because of the whole reality/fiction disconnect. However, the parasocial aspect that was already a problem with Youtubers can be compounded by that disconnect, which has resulted in a more visceral reaction towards some of the simp behavior. Really, it's eCeleb/Youtubers but with voice-acting talent role-playing as fictional characters in front of an online (some terminally-online) audience.
I saw quite a bit of Kizuna/Kaguya etc. early on as it seemed a cool idea to do live-motion capture on a person, showing the advancement in technology. But my interest soured as, of course, companies dedicated to the shit followed after very quickly, with videogame streams and superchats, not unlike how Youtube started monetizing their popular users a decade ago. The streaming fits right into the Zoomer/post-Zoomer habit of wasting time watching other people accomplish things. It's also extended into its own gamut of fan-artistry and I've seen decently talented people just ride into that abyss and waste their abilities on it.
It could be more toxic to the mind than watching human Youtubers depending on the person, so I put it slightly towards the "detrimental to humanity" bucket, but so is being on the Internet too much anyway... You could also argue watching Youtube is no different than Boomers sitting in front of a TV, people like to be entertained when vegging.