Are you besties with Bowen Yang? How the intimate nature of podcasts has blurred the lines between show host and friend.

Viola is as busy as any 30-year-old working a corporate job. When she’s got free time, the executive recruiter (who asked to not use her last name) likes to spend it working out, getting her nails done and hanging out with loved ones. And then there’s her weekly date with Las Culturistas, the pop culture podcast hosted by Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang.

“I have a standing appointment every Wednesday with Matt and Bowen,” she tells Yahoo Life. Viola typically tunes in while she’s driving. “My boyfriend and mom know not to call if I am in the car unless it’s something important. They know that is my podcast time.”

Episodes can run close to two hours apiece, but Viola makes the time. When she’s caught up on new episodes, she’ll revisit older ones, listening while exercising, taking a break from work or even showering (“I have a waterproof speaker,” she explains.). Her devotion to Las Culturistas isn’t just about Rogers and Yang’s takes on news, reality television and internet culture; it’s also about the co-hosts’ friendship — something she sees herself being a part of. “It’s a weekly conversation I get to be a part of without any pressure to participate,” she says. “I definitely feel less alone when listening.”

And she isn’t alone in that feeling. According to Janet Bayramyan, psychotherapist and owner of Road to Wellness Therapy, podcasts can easily give rise to parasocial relationships: one-sided relationships that a person develops with a public figure or fictional character.

“Hearing someone’s voice in your ears is inherently intimate, similar to a phone call, which can create a stronger emotional connection than other media formats,” Bayramyan tells Yahoo Life. It may be why many listeners like Viola consider the hosts of their favorite podcasts to be friends. Here's what those fans say — and what mental health experts make of it.

Why podcasters feel like friends

Rolando Nieves, 38, has been listening to radio host-turned-podcaster Taylor Strecker since her days on SiriusXM’s Wake Up With Taylor. Although that show ended in 2017, Strecker continued to make content independently and later signed with Dear Media to distribute her daily show, Taste of Taylor.

“She's had this crazy life journey that part of me feels like I've been on with her, and I think it's why I listen to her,” Nieves says, rattling off some of the personal details Strecker has shared over the years. “She was married to a rich man, hated by his family, filed for divorce, came out as lesbian, got fired by Sirius. She is so open about it that I just eat it all up.”

So much so that Nieves sometimes even prefers “listening to Taylor over chatting with friends.” He finds himself referencing her podcast comments during conversations. “A friend told me ‘X’ or a friend of mine is going through ‘Y,’” he’ll say, with the “friend” in question being Strecker. “I do think of Taylor as a friend,” says Nieves, “which, I'm aware, sounds ludicrous.”

But Shebna N. Osanmoh, a psychiatrist nurse practitioner at Savant Care, says otherwise. “It is normal for people to consider podcasters as friends,” Osanmoh tells Yahoo Life. “The experience does feel authentic.”

There are a few reasons for that, explains Osanmoh. In addition to the intimacy of “hearing someone’s voice, especially directly in the ears,” he points out that turning on a favorite podcast is part of many people’s routines. “They feel a sense of familiarity and reliability with a podcaster who posts frequently.” Adds Bayramyan: “People often listen to podcasts while doing mundane tasks, like commuting or cleaning, which mimics the experience of having a friend keep them company.”

It’s different from having a TV show playing in the background because of the nature of conversations that take place on podcasts. In contrast to more formal interview styles or scripts, that casual yapping “creates a sense of closeness for listeners,” says Osanmoh.

Angelic Molos, a 21-year-old living in New York City, loves listening to The Broski Report, hosted by Brittany Broski, because of its relaxed feel. “Hearing her stream of consciousness really speaks to me,” Molos tells Yahoo Life.

Destiny Bonner is a self-proclaimed “Toaster,” which is what fans of The Toast call themselves. The longtime listener tells Yahoo Life that the sisterly bond between the show’s co-hosts, Jackie and Claudia Oshry, is what appeals to her the most. “I have listened for close to five years now, and it’s crazy how I feel like I know them. It feels like I’m at a coffee shop chatting with my besties every time I listen,” Bonner says.

Bayramyan says that makes sense. “Podcasts often feel like eavesdropping on a conversation among friends, which creates an illusion of social participation,” she explains.

Much of this is by design. A 2023 study found that podcast listeners actually expect that type of uninhibited communication from their favorite hosts. The study’s participants indicated that hosts should not only display a certain level of passion and personality but also vulnerability, authenticity and humor. “I expect the podcast host to … speak their own opinion and tell personal anecdotes,” a 40-year-old female participant said.

And last year, researchers found that people are most likely to develop parasocial bonds with comedian podcast hosts, as humor stands out as a marker of authenticity.

What loneliness has to do with it

While parasocial relationships are nothing new (the term was coined by sociologists in 1956), they’ve become more prevalent as digital media allows for greater access to people we don’t personally know. This is also happening concurrent with the loneliness epidemic, which makes experts believe that there may be a connection between the two.

“In the current social media-heavy landscape, there is a rising level of loneliness and isolation among people. So a lot of people are turning towards parasocial relationships to get emotional support and companionship,” says Osanmoh. Tuning into a podcast is an easy way to attain that.

“They simulate social interaction in a low-stakes environment where listeners can feel connected without the vulnerability or effort of real socializing,” says Bayramyan. “[It’s] a safe form of companionship, reducing feelings of loneliness without the complexities of real-life interactions.”

It’s little surprise, then, that there was a rise in podcast listening during the COVID-19 pandemic, — a time when people were quarantined in their homes and lacking regular interpersonal connection. But not all of those who feel connected to podcast hosts are lonely.

That said, a 2022 study on why people listen to podcasts determined that the need to belong wasn’t a common motivator. Instead, podcast listeners tend to already be social people who turn to podcasts for the content, rather than any social or emotional needs. Parasocial relationships that happen to develop, however, do fulfill basic psychological needs.

So, are podcasters ever really your friends?

Ryan McCormick, host and executive producer of the metaphysical podcast Outer Limits of Inner Truth, says that his relationship with listeners isn’t just parasocial. “Every time an audience member writes to me, I personally call them,” he tells Yahoo Life. “I ask them about their path in life, what drives them and, of course, what I could be doing better on [the podcast].”

He believes that the topics he discusses require listeners to not be so passive and even inspire them to reach out to him directly. “If you talk about important issues and deep matters, you're asking a listener to give more of themselves,” he says. “I have revealed to my listeners a number of personal things, including shortcomings that I've never shared with even close friends. I think because I'm so forthcoming with them, they in turn reciprocate.”

McCormick believes that, even if a host doesn’t engage in one-on-one connections, most feel that their listeners are their friends. Chuck Bryant, co-host of the Stuff You Should Know podcast, tells Yahoo Life that being a fan of other podcasts has provided him with that perspective.

“My own parasocial relationships have definitely informed my feelings about how our audience relates to us,” says Bryant. “At the end of the day, we're all fans of something, so when we hear from people about how they relate to us and think we'd be friends in real life, they're probably correct. I feel the same way about the hosts of the shows I love.”

Is this podcast-listener relationship good for you?

Bayramyan says there’s no problem with having these parasocial relationships — unless “someone becomes overly dependent on these one-sided relationships and prioritizes them over in-person connections.”

Bonding with other listeners of your favorite podcast — like meeting on a Reddit forum for “Armchairies” tuned into Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert or connecting in the comments section of a host’s Instagram — might even lead to some very real friendships.

“I became friends with a group of girls, and when one of them brought up The Toast, our eyes immediately lit up and we instantly felt 10 times closer,” says Bonner. “The Oshry sisters have a specific type of humor that only ‘Toasters’ get, so when you come across another ‘Toaster’ it’s an immediate friendship without a doubt.”

Viola has yet to make real-life friends through the Las Culturistas podcast, but still feels like she’s a part of a community as a listener. She hopes to score tickets to the next Las Culturistas Culture Awards to get the chance to sit in a room full of fellow fans. “It’s a bucket list item for me to go get all dressed up and watch two of my favorite people spread joy,” she says.