To stalk, or not to stalk

So I'm thinking how easy it is to become really caught up in something that resonates with you.  You want to know more about it, and you want to know more about how it was created.  Twenty years ago the people who made the news and who wrote the things we read were distant, unreachable beings.  Now, they are ever-present, but even more distant.  From their outputs, you feel as if you know them.  You can detect when things aren't the same as they were.  But because you only feel as if you know them, without really knowing them, sending a "U OK hun?" would not hit the spot.  You'd be a stalker, a weirdo, an unwelcome intruder on a digital life that is only there to promote the work (and therefore the finances) of the person concerned.  It's strange how you can be so concerned about someone without having actually met them.