In this new age of social media, fans are exposed to celebrities more than ever. Now, at the click of a button, you can easily see what your favorite celebrity had for dinner or wore to an award show. Being a fan has never been easier. But with this increased accessibility, some problems have started to arise. Some fans are becoming too involved in the lives of idols. People are creating parasocial relationships, obsessing over the smallest things celebrities do, and even going as far as stalking them. It is definitely a problem.
One of the biggest fandoms in the world currently is the Swifties. Many fans of Taylor Swift have been known to be a little extreme when it comes to the singer. But of course, this doesn’t apply to the majority of fans who know what appropriate fan behavior is.
Lots of people who consider themselves fans of a celebrity, especially singers, will immerse themselves into the world created by that star. This could include buying tons of merchandise or consuming all of their available media. This will obviously result in someone becoming extremely invested in what is going on with a celebrity and what they do. But the line between interest and obsession sometimes gets blurred. Recently, a video went viral across multiple platforms showing a woman, who was sitting outside a Taylor Swift concert, hysterically sobbing in the arms of her friends after realizing the singer was playing her favorite song. Many people online were ridiculing the woman by calling her immature and dramatic for her extreme reactions. One user even commented that the sobbing was more intense than what the user had displayed when her father had passed away. Even a lot of Swifties got involved saying that the response was not necessary given the situation. The video shows just how extreme some fans are when it comes to their favorite celebrity. Senior Andrea Aragon weighed in saying, “We all have our favorite songs and it can be sad when we aren’t there to experience hearing it live but I think that the video was a little much. A Taylor Swift song shouldn’t mean the end of the world to you, especially when there’s so many bigger problems going on.”
Many times, fans disguise their stalking behavior as showing love and support for a celebrity. For example, Swifties have been known to show up outside private events in hopes of catching a glimpse of Taylor Swift. In one instance, fans crowded outside of a home where Swift was attending a friend’s wedding. This was very dangerous because the amount of people gathered was a fire hazard and streets ended up being blocked. But many people online defended these actions by saying that fans only wanted a chance to see their favorite artist. Popular K-pop band NCT Dream also experienced extreme fan crowds at an airport. A large number of fans practically mobbed the band members which caused chaos and anger all around. Crowding is dangerous in any scenario, but can be lethal especially in enclosed spaces like airports. Aragon commented, “I think it’s definitely okay and fun to be a fan of an artist but it turns into a really negative thing when people take it too far. It gives all fans a bad look.”
Even though there are lots of fans that take their love too far when it comes to celebrities, most aren’t like that. Many recognize that celebrities are people as well and sometimes fan actions can be dangerous for everyone involved.
