My view

Commodification of intimacy, celebrity worship syndrome, and mental health.

Source: https://www.insider.com/online-mob-stan-twitter-harassment-problem-fandom-music-fan-2021-7

Fandoms can introduce a positive community for its members; however, they also carry a lot of problematic issues. From obsession to hateful online interactions between fans, to the notion of 'standom'. The aim of this short essay is to present the negative side of music fandom and stanning through the points of celebrity worship, mental health, and the commodification of intimacy. Additionally, instead of focusing solely on fandoms, the paper expands upon the music industry to include the impact of music companies on fans.

The first issue that will be discussed is celebrity worship and celebrity worship syndrome, something that has already been discussed in the blog. This obsessive fascination with celebrities has three main levels, two of which go beyond the idea of being a fan and adopt concerning behaviours such as compulsive feelings and behaviours that can be considered as a maladaptive form of admiration (McCutcheon et al., 2016). Although being a fan of celebrities is a normal part of childhood and adolescents (Yue & Cheung, 2000) the parasocial interaction can quickly switch to an abnormal obsession. A study done by Zsila et al (2018) proposed that related to celebrity worship, in the two concerning dimensions, is problematic use of the Internet and maladaptive daydreaming. Instead of focusing on solely time spent on the Internet as a metric for problematic use, it was treated in the same regard as pathological gambling, where the individual is unsuccessful at reducing their time spent and feels irritable when forced to decrease their time.

A related topic briefly mentioned throughout the blog has been mental health, specifically mental health issues. On one hand, individuals with mental health issues are more likely to become stans and display problematic if not dangerous behaviour (Zsila et al., 2018). On the other hand, for many people fandom brings a sense of community. For people with a weak sense of belonging, they are more likely to be depressed (McCallum, 2011). The potential community present within the music industry for a specific artist can help people feel less lonely and may even aid them at hard points of their life.

Another concern relating to music fandoms and the music industry in general is the commodification of intimacy within the pop industry. Companies adopt mediated intimacy as a marketing tactic and created content outside of just music, on social networking sites and other media platforms that allow a more ‘get to know” type of basis. Mediated intimacy is concept that refers to “a medium through which intimate relations can be established between the subject and the other” (Attwood et al., 2017, as cited by George, 2020). Some examples of how this is achieved include the use of social media by celebrities to maintain a personal relationship (Baym 2010, as cited by George, 2020) or the use of live streams. This mediated form of intimacy can be related back to parasocial relationships and can be established as parasocial intimacy. The intimacy obtained from these interactions only serves the fan, or viewer, where they might perceive a celebrity as a genuine conversation partner, mostly with no acknowledgement from the celebrity (Dibble, et al., 2016). The mediation factor of the intimacy is present using technology and social media, where there is a perceived closeness between fans and celebrities.

To some extent some musicians, especially within the Kpop industry, rely on mediated intimacy for their career to be successful. The introduction of vlogs and reality style content stimulates the interaction between the idol and fan far more than music videos and promotional content. The idea of mediated intimacy is present as one form of affective capitalism with the use of affective labour. Hardt’s (1999) posed that while communities such as fandom may arise as a result of affective labour, the nature of these practices, such as mediated intimacy, is exploitative in nature. Thus, companies generate profit through stimulating parasocial intimacy between fans and idols, thus using “fans’ emotional, affective, and communal investment into [the] idols.”

Overall, music industry is not the only market facing the issues mentioned above. Additionally, they are not all inherently part of music fandom. In the case of separating the identity of a fan and a stan, this should also extend in separating the music from the fandom. On the other hand, the one key issue that is feeding into all the other problems is the commodification of intimacy and the use of parasocial intimacy to stimulate increasingly ‘obsessive’ fan behaviour to generate revenue from sales. The very structure upon which a lot of pop music is built upon utilises exploitative tactics. Although music companies could simply be benefiting from the obsessive nature of fans and stans, the very nature of them benefiting creates a structure where this behaviour of fans is maintained and supported.

References

Dibble, J. L., Hartmann, T., & Rosaen, S. F. (2015). Parasocial interaction and parasocial relationship: Conceptual clarification and a critical assessment of measures. Human Communication Research, 42(1), 21–44. https://doi.org/10.1111/hcre.12063

George, O. (2020). "ARMY, I'm Home!": Digital Community and Mediated Intimacy in K-Pop Fandom, https://www.croft.olemiss.edu/images/OG128588T20.pdf

McCallum, C., & McLaren, S. (2011). Sense of belonging and depressive symptoms among GLB adolescents. Journal of homosexuality, 58(1), 83–96. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2011.533629

McCutcheon, L. E., Gillen, M. M., Browne, B. L., Murtagh, M. P., & Collisson, B. (2016). Intimate relationships and attitudes toward celebrities. Interpersona, 10(1), 77–89. doi:10.5964/ijpr.v10i1.208

Yue XD, Cheung C-K (2000). Selection of favourite idols and models among Chinese young people: A comparative study in Hong Kong and Nanjing. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 24(1), 91–98. doi:10.1080/016502500383511

Zsila, Á., McCutcheon, L. E., & Demetrovics, Z. (2018). The association of celebrity worship with problematic Internet use, maladaptive daydreaming, and desire for fame. Journal of behavioral addictions, 7(3), 654–664. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.7.2018.76