We’re all fans of someone, whether it be a singer, actor, athlete or even a politician. It’s fun to show your support for the ones you love. The fans that take this love a bit further are known as “stans”. If you aren’t too familiar with this, a stan is defined as “an overzealous or obsessive fan of a celebrity”. I’ll admit, back in the day I was a HUGE One Direction stan. I remember learning nearly everything about the group and dedicating a part of my life to the boy band. Today, some of the most popular stan groups are BTS’ Army, Nicki Minaj’s Barbz and Taylor Swift’s Swifties. While I am a fan of many celebrities, I often find myself distancing from their fan bases due to fan behaviors. Over the past few years, stan culture has grown and with growth comes a lot of negatives. Ultimately, this has led me to believe that stan culture has grown toxic. So, here are my reasons why I think stan culture isn’t fun.
1. Social media has made stanning toxic
Millions of people use social media everyday for their daily source of entertainment and news. Stan culture is a huge part of social media, with groups dominating nearly every platform. If you’re on Twitter, it’s not uncommon to see the phrase “Stan Twitter”, which is often filled with many fan groups supporting their favs. Here, you will find stan activity in full swing. While most of the individuals there often get along, there are often many who take it too far. Some will even make accounts dedicated to bashing a celeb. Other times, a person may make a post insulting a celebrity. This is when chaos ensues. This leads to even more drama as stans will often fight other groups or even with each other; and don’t forget the occasional #__isoverparty trend which is often a joke but can quickly go left.
2. Stan culture goes too far
We’re often told to respect everyone’s opinions. Most of us often learn to just ignore these comments and move on. However, many stans will often attack individuals for comments as simple as “I don’t like their outfit”, resulting in the person getting harassed. There have also been cases of fans mass reporting and even doxxing people for not liking their favs. This can result in people losing their accounts or even having their personal lives affected as a result.
3. Stans can make celebrities look bad
A lot of times fan behavior can have a negative impact on celebrities. Oftentimes, it can be hard to like a celebrity due to their fans; or, it can be harder for a celebrity to gain a more respectable growth due to fans. While some cases are understandable such as defending a celebrity against harassment, some things are inexcusable. For example, calling a record company and yelling at the employees for not updating a singer’s records is not okay. There have also been many cases of stans willingly defending their favs after they have been problematic. I know we often like to support our favorite celebs no matter what. Yet, it’s still important to call them out when they’re wrong. While stan culture is ultimately a huge part of pop culture today, it’s important to note when things get out of hand. Of course, stanning can be fun but toxic behaviors often make it hard for many to enjoy celebrities.