The “celebrities” I am referring to here are vloggers, YouTubers and influencers who clearly make their income from advertisements or product endorsements. This new wave of celebrities use digital platforms to deliver content that feed off the masses.

It is mind-boggling, though, to observe just how far they are willing to go for views, likes and comments. When these celebrity content creators share their private lives, the line between work and the personal is blurred.

Celebrities build their loyal “army” using tactics specifically designed to do just one thing: gain more subscribers and followers. Some of the strategies they use include giving an endearing name to their fan group and greeting them with particular words and phrases that intimate a personal connection and make them feel special.

Who wouldn’t feel special being called “darling” by Huda Kattan of Huda Beauty, the Iraqi-American makeup artist and YouTuber who has 48 million followers? And who wouldn’t feel as though they have a brother in English gamer and YouTuber DanTDM when he greets them with “Hi guys”? My son is certainly a big fan of his.

In our own backyard, we have actor Baim Wong with his iconic “Bosque”, a play on the term bosku (boss), which he uses to address the 17 million followers who love his social experiments and pranks.

This implied connection is what we desire most in a society that is becoming increasingly isolated because of globalization, and especially because of social media.

To put it bluntly, we’re swallowing the bait.

We develop a sense of kinship and grow emotionally attached over time. These digital celebrities lure us into believing that we know them as individuals. Because of this sense of familiarity, we also feel entitled to the details of their personal lives.

They become a focus of our conversations and a common denominator in our social lives. Gradually, our attachment becomes so intense and compulsive that it turns into an obsession. This phenomenon is what psychologists refer to as celebrity worship syndrome (CWS). It is a psychological disorder in which a person becomes obsessed with the minutiae of a celebrity’s personal life.

But there’s a catch: this perceived intimacy is one-sided. Our adoration for and illusive kinship with our idols are not necessarily reciprocated. Each of us is just one follower among millions, and it is very likely that what we are perceiving is not what we’re getting.

The question, then, is what led us to celebrity worship in the first place? Well, sometimes we become attracted to certain celebrities because of their ability to entertain. We fall in love with the movie characters they play and assume that these characters are who they are in real life.

In other cases, we adore them because of their superiority in our areas of interest, be it technology, cars or beauty. Oftentimes, we feel inspired by certain public figures. The bottom line is, we idolize celebrities because they are a big part of our culture. Like it or not, celebrities dominate our everyday lives.

But now we know that our clicks are more than merely expressing our feelings but a commodity, what do we do about it?

For one thing, we should become more selective in what and who we like or subscribe to. In doing so, we learn to be more critical of the types of content we consume. The other thing is that we need to realize we live in a new world where everything eventually comes down to transactions: The price we pay is no longer limited to money, but also includes our time, attention and emotional being.

My hope is that if we can collectively come to this realization, perhaps it can lead us to a better bargaining position. Who knows if we will reach a win-win solution in which we social media users will feel less exploited and our celebrities can use their fame and fortune in a more conscientious and responsible manner.

But in the end, who doesn’t like a good deal?

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The writer is the founder of Dahuni Foundation.