What experts say I - Normalisation of stan culture

As mentioned in the first post, while being a stan and a fan are used synonymously nowadays. However, originally, they had different definitions. Inspired by the Eminem song of the same name, stan it is a portmanteau of the words stalker and fan. In a blog post, Haaniyah Angus (2019), a writer and previously a teenage stan herself, talks about realising that this subculture of ‘standom’ (stan fandom) is genuinely worrying.

The dynamic between a celebrity and a ‘stan’ can be described as a parasocial relationship, a one-sided dynamic where time, energy, and interest is directed toward the object of obsession, whilst they, commonly a celebrity, remain oblivious and ignorant of the existence of the other (para.5). The writer goes on to talk about how being a stan and participating in the ‘standom’ subculture is not in itself a negative issue, the problem arises with the stans intent.

The issue of ‘standom’, especially on Twitter is that “anonymity and the mass reach of social media allow their harassment and stalking to be extremely harmful while sheltering them from consequences” (para. 17). From hateful messages to baiting suicide, stans seem to have a “soldier-like sense of duty” (para. 9) to protect the focus of their obsession. Additionally, the admiration for such behaviour has been growing within these subcultures, where to be considered a ‘true-fan’ acts that disregard the wellbeing of others, are aggressive and obsessive, are expected.

Although obsessive fans have existed for a long time, social media has created a false or hyperreality where the distance of the parasocial relationship is appearing to be smaller fuelling the obsession of the stans which unfortunately leads to less critical consumption of media such as music and its related content.

“Critical thinking only makes our experience richer, and it definitely doesn’t mean that we hate an artist for making mistakes.” (Para. 12)

“Critical consumption does not negate enjoyment” (Para. 12)

Video - a well put together summary

If you are more fond of a video format, below is a Youtube video about the toxicity of stan culture. The creator goes into more detail than the summary provided above.

Source

Why The Normalization of Stan Culture is Unhealthy

Additional related sources

1. How Pop Music Fandom Became Sports, Politics, Religion and All-Out War

2. The psychology of stanning

3. “Stan” Culture Creates Toxic Consumption Trends

4. US VS. THEM: TOXIC FANDOM AND THE CULT OF IDENTITY