And what makes you so sure of that. You and I have been in the internet long enough to know that there are all sorts of weirdos.
And honestly I see no point in there being and "illusion" in the first place. Like the whole asmr roleplay stuff ok Its just a video I guess.
But when you carry on the "act" for an extended period of time and are actively encouraging false hopes, then Im sorry but I really fail to see how that is not harmful.
and how is this any different from them discouraging parasocial relationships. I feel you are contradicting yourself a little here.
Also that whole "saving yourself for chat" jusst sounds like idol bs to me
"Saving myself for chat" is a decently common thing among Vtubers due to their close relationship to Idol culture. It's the defining mark for parasocial vtubers and it's really what made Ruchia the parasocial Queen of Hololive. At the time of her termination? If I recall right she was Hololive's top earner in terms of donations. Hell the whole reason she got terminated is because she burnt her career at Hololive in a mad-dash to disrupt/dismiss the rumors she was trying to seek a relationship with a coworker despite her claims on stream. Aka cheating-on-chat.
Ironically enough her efforts got rewarded because the most passionate of her fanbase stuck with her when she debuted again. She flat out admits and defends parasocial viewers to this day as a result. Aka "It's them who stuck with me at my lowest."
The issue is that aside from Ruchia, it's hard to think up any immediate other girls from my end which spout that out loud and take it as seriously. I know for a fact Veibae said it circa... 2021 I think? But nowadays she's Sodapoppin's girlfriend which explained why everyone on /vt/ despises her. You claim to be Chat's GF or at the very least not having a boyfriend while depending on donations from chat, you either stick to it or get flamed for eternity.
As for the bit about illusions. Illusions are hella important when you're in this type of career. It need not even be an illusion always! If I was a streamer it'd be genuinely honest of me to say I'd love to be friends with all of my viewers- just it isn't really plausible since I wouldn't have the necessary time to give them all a meaningful friendship. Isn't even an illusion for bros who'd potentially support me to think I'm their friend.
The difference when you flat out say stuff like that is it completely destroys any chance a viewer might've had in viewing you as someone they'd get along with. It terminates the foundation needed for a lot of people to donate to streamers too.
In my eyes there's honestly two types of donators. At least these two types make up the mass majority of them.
The "Tipper" - Makes a decent living or has plenty of spare cash. Throws it at their preferred entertainers in believing it's right to pay them for the entertainment they've received.
The "Provider" - Be it wealthy or in poverty, this person throws cash regardless of personal situation. For them donating to their favorite entertainer is akin to that of supporting a family member, offspring, or even romantic partner. They do it because if they don't- their entertainer will suffer and they don't want them to suffer.
An example I can think of for the "Provider" was the Silvervale paypig who wrote out that google-doc on her. Dude dumped like 8,000$ or some shit onto her in the span of a year and we all know his ass could NOT afford that shit from the month he started. Guy definitely began doing it on the basis of wanting to provide for her.
It's honestly possible to have a sanctimonious relationship with a horde of providers. It's something again that Ruchia accomplished more or less. Back at Hololive she was THE Girlfriend-Experience Vtuber. I know way less about her current time as Nazuna but based off the comments she's made about her most passionate fans and defending parasocial viewership? She's still going strong with it. Having a parasocial crowd requires you to really dedicate yourself TO your viewerbase. Which...ironically enough? Is something streamers legitimately do already. Streamers spend more time streaming than they do if they just worked a regular job and end up having less time for regular life-activities as a result. Only difference with parasocial-centric followings is there's an inherently sexual/sensual undertone to it all. As well as I suppose the fact chat won't support you picking up a partner. (This applies to dudes too if they've got enough women following them. Sodapoppin had a colony of femcels following him which weren't happy about Vei.
As for her audience; being told good night by a handful of strangers in the chat every time I'm too tired to keep watching feels very nice. Like... an actual community? In real life my neighbors aren't polite enough to return good mornings so they don't feel like a community/my people.