I don’t even know why I’m writing this, like, I just feel so… weird about it and I can’t talk to anyone in my real life about it because it just sounds completely insane, you know? Like, it’s not really a *problem* problem, but it’s still kind of consuming my thoughts and I feel like maybe someone out there has some kind of… insight or something. I’m just feeling really confused. So there's this YouTuber, she's like, a lifestyle vlogger, and she does a lot of skincare and makeup stuff, and she's just super sweet and wholesome, you know? Like, she's probably in her mid-twenties, maybe like 25, 26? And she just has this really gentle way about her and she talks about her day and her family and her little dog, and I’ve been watching her for maybe three years now, since COVID started really, and she’s just always there, you know? Like a constant, and it was just something I’d put on in the background while I was doing meal prep or trying to unwind after a crazy day at the office, where everything is just so… competitive, and you’re constantly trying to prove yourself, and it’s just exhausting. And I guess I started noticing that my grandmother was watching her too. Like, she’d bring up something the vlogger said, and I’d be like, "Oh, yeah, she talked about that in her last video!" And we’d just chat about it, and it was kind of sweet because my grandmother is older now, she’s in her late seventies, and she doesn’t really have a lot of social interaction since my grandpa passed, and her friends are all kind of… fading away, you know? And she never had a granddaughter, only grandsons, so I think she really gravitated towards this girl. And it was cute at first, like, a shared interest. But then it started to get… intense. Like, she started buying everything this girl recommended. EVERYTHING. If the vlogger said "Oh, I just discovered this amazing new vitamin C serum, it’s a GAME CHANGER," my grandmother would order it that day. And I mean, these products are not cheap, like we’re talking hundreds of dollars, and she's retired, so her income isn’t what it used to be. And she’d call me, sometimes several times a week, to tell me about a new product she bought because "our girl recommended it." Like, it was *their* girl, you know? And she’d ask me if I’d tried it, and I'd just kind of deflect and say "Oh, maybe later," because my own skincare routine is pretty basic, and I don't really have the budget for all that luxury stuff, especially with trying to save for a down payment and all. And it really escalated when the vlogger did a sponsored video for a really high-end moisturizer, like, a few hundred dollars for a small jar. And my grandmother went out and bought it, and she called me, so excited, like "Oh, my skin is going to look like hers now!" And it just… it hit me in a weird way. Because this vlogger, she’s obviously had cosmetic procedures, like fillers and Botox, and good for her, whatever, but she also just has naturally amazing skin, and she’s YOUNG. And my grandmother, she’s a wonderful woman, but she’s 78, and no amount of expensive moisturizer is going to make her look like a 26-year-old. And I felt this surge of something, like, this protectiveness, but also this incredible sadness. I tried to gently suggest to my grandmother, like, "Hey, maybe you don’t need *all* of those products, you know? Your skin already looks great!" And she just got this look on her face, like, she was genuinely hurt. And she said, "But she needs our support. She’s working so hard, and she’s so sweet, and she relies on her audience." And it just stopped me cold, because I suddenly understood. She genuinely sees this young woman as a surrogate granddaughter, and she thinks by buying these products, she’s helping her, she’s supporting her, like she would support one of us. It’s not about the products for her, it’s about this perceived relationship, this sense of contributing to this young woman’s success. It's a patronage, almost. And I just… I don’t know how to deal with that. Because on the one hand, it’s kind of sweet, right? Like, she’s found a connection, and she feels like she’s doing something meaningful. But on the other hand, she’s spending a HUGE amount of money on things she doesn’t need, and it’s based on this one-sided parasocial relationship that the vlogger probably doesn’t even register. And it makes me feel this deep ache, like, my grandmother is trying to fill a void, you know? And maybe she *is* filling it, but it just feels… precarious. And I feel guilty for even thinking this way, like, who am I to judge what gives her joy? But it’s still eating at me, and I just don't know what to do. Like, should I say something more direct? But then I risk upsetting her, and she’s so happy right now. Or do I just let it go? But then I see her credit card statements and I just… UGH. It’s like a complex emotional entanglement, and I just can’t untangle it.