Gabriel Basso says social media has turned people into voyeurs obsessed with strangers' lives: 'It's weird'

Gabriel Basso is sounding the alarm on the impact social media is having on human connection."The Night Agent" star, who wrote, directed and stars in the upcoming psychological thriller "Iconoclast," recently reflected on the dangers of influencer culture and online obsession — themes that sit at the center of his directorial debut."I just think people have now gotten in a habit of trading in connection or the potential connection next to them for controllable connections all over the world," Basso told Fox News Digital at the Tribeca Festival.ROBERT DOWNEY JR.SLAMS MODERN CELEBRITY CULTURE AS 'ABSOLUTE HORSES---'Gabriel Basso attends the "Iconoclast" premiere during the 2026 Tribeca Festival at Village East Cinema in New York City.

(Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival)"And I think it's a sort of illusion that we're all growing closer."In "Iconoclast," Basso plays Connor, a lonely young man whose fixation on a live-streaming influencer spirals into something far darker.The story taps into a growing cultural obsession with parasocial relationships, online validation and influencer worship.And according to Basso, the problem runs deeper than people realize."I have a bunch of problems with social media, but that I think is the sort of foundation of, like, you don't get to control relationships.

And in real life it's impossible because it's a real human being."WATCH: ‘ICONOCLAST’ STAR GABRIEL BASSO WARNS SOCIAL MEDIA CREATES ‘ILLUSION’ OF CONNECTIONThe actor argued that social media creates the illusion of intimacy while removing the unpredictability that comes with genuine human connection."But I used the analogy earlier — it's like from ‘Beauty and the Beast’ when the Beast is like, 'Show me Belle,' and he pulls up a photo of Belle… it's magic, but he can see her… that feels like an invasive thing," he continued.LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSGabriel Basso wrote, directed and stars in "Iconoclast," a psy...