Stan On Business – The Dangers of Para social Relationships

By Jordan Henderson

Stan culture has become somewhat of a phenomenon over the past 15 years, with the rise of social media only enhancing connections between celebrities and fans. While this could be seen as a positive thing, there are many instances of boundaries being crossed.

A parasocial relationship is a one-sided relationship that someone develops with a famous figure, often without the figure's knowledge of their existence. The rise of social media enabled fans to see more of celebrities’ lives, whether that be posting what they had for dinner on Instagram or their thoughts on the latest hit TV show. Fans felt more connected than ever to people whom they admire.

Over time, we started to see people base their personal social media accounts on these people, which then moved on to fans having “update” accounts solely for artists or celebrities. This is where things started to take a turn for the worse, with fans obsessing over their every move to gain traction to help grow their accounts. Some stans even had dates of online interactions with celebrities memorised, displaying dates of these interactions in their bios or even usernames.

Things only started to get worse as the years went on, with fans posting artists’ locations, which has led to fans turning up at hotels, TV appearances or even properties these people own. To this day, certain fans have reputations online for some of their questionable actions over the years.

Taylor Swift has become arguably the most recognisable artist in the world. Writing catchy songs and relatable lyrics, she sold tens of millions of records on her rise to becoming a global superstar. With such success, it’s only natural that she has a devoted fan base. Her fan base, commonly known as Swifties, is loyal to the core and will defend her when it comes to any subject. Earlier this year, the singer announced her engagement to American Football player, Travis Kelcie, which was met with some interesting responses online. 

One person took to TikTok to congratulate Taylor by stating: “If I can’t find love, I’m just glad she has. She deserves it.” While another fan said: “The artist I’ve known the longest is engaged. Go get it, girl”, while crying hysterically.

In maybe the most extreme instance, someone posted to social media last year to announce that they had changed their name to Caroline Melissa Taylor due to Taylor Swift. In the video, she said: “If you guys don’t like that, then maybe you should go touch grass”, possibly the most ironic statement of the year?

Sadly, last year we lost One Direction star Liam Payne at the age of 31. Liam had a huge fan base due to his success in the British boy band and went on to have continued success as a solo artist. His sudden death came as a shock to millions globally. Liam had previously had issues with alcohol and substance abuse but appeared to have overcome the worst of his issues.

 As you can imagine, there were floods of tributes across the globe from fans, colleagues and those close to Liam. Some fans took to different social media platforms to tell others how they should feel about his passing, including famous faces who had personal relationships with Liam. Fans targeted his partner at the time of his death, with some going as far as to blame her for his death.

Other fans took to social media explaining how they were grieving the loss of the star, with one fan posting that people don’t understand how much Liam's death had impacted her. She went on to explain how he had previously interacted with her accounts, and the fact that she would never experience that again left her heartbroken. She said he was an “important figure” in her life. Another fan posted very similar thoughts, explaining that Liam’s music and presence were her comfort place and that she felt she had lost that now that he had died.

Clearly famous faces can have a huge impact on people’s lives. It is easier now for fans to get too attached to online interactions, creating unrealistic and unhealthy dynamics. Studies show that we are in the heart of a loneliness epidemic, which is a global, public health concern. A large proportion of people experience social isolation and loneliness. It  may be hard to prove that the growth of parasocial relationships in pop culture and the loneliness epidemic are directly linked. However, it would make it easier to understand some of the unhealthy behaviours certain individuals continue to display.