Some of the responses to my consent post got me thinking about relationships and boundaries on social media, so I'm going to talk a bit about parasocial relationships.
When I was new to Fedi, I started following cool accounts that popped up regularly, which tended to be much bigger accounts than my own. Many of which I now consider to be friends, or more ( @catsalad, @deviantollam, @saraislet, @Alice, @aral, @dramypsyd, @TheBreadmonkey, @LilahTovMoon, @tinker, @ErikUden, apparently this turned into a #FollowFriday post π ).
Now, because of the way our brains have evolved, the people we tend to get attached to are the people we regularly spend time with. Big accounts get boosted a lot (and also tend to be more prolific tooters), so most users on Fedi regularly "spend time with" these larger accounts.
***Now don't get me wrong***, I love getting to know new people! It's why I'm here! 
That said, if you factor in that I often share deeply personal things about myself, post nudes, and naturally have a flirty/friendly tone, the maths work out such that I can end up with folx who've known me intimately for months or years, who I've only seen an occasional reply from.
This isn't usually an issueβit's just how social media works. But it can become a problem when the more familiar party assumes their familiarity comes with the privilege to cross boundaries that require consent.
Setting boundaries and talking about consent isn't rejection, it's a way of saying I want to keep engaging with you, but in a way that makes us both feel safe and heard.
Obligatory reference to my old "flirting is like Jenga" postβEach game requires a new agreement to play, and you only get to escalate one block per turn.
