Like Kim Niehaus at school Taylor Swift discovered for himself, he was ridiculed for it. “If you walked into class wearing a Taylor Swift t-shirt, it was very embarrassing,” he recalled. Despite this, he remained a fan – and even missed two hours of English class to get to Cologne in time for the concert.
Now, years later, the influencer is talking about how powerful fan culture can create a community. Whether it’s Swift, K-pop stars, or German bands like Tokio Hotel: Superfans are becoming more aware of themselves these days. They give us reason to think about what it means to be a fan today.
Where does the term “Stan” for a superfan come from?
Extreme forms of fan culture are now also described by the term “Stan”. According to media reports, the term originates from Eminem’s 2000 song of the same title, which presents fan fixation as a cautionary tale: A fan keeps writing letters to Eminemuntil his fixation finally ends fatally.
Eminem later reportedly explained that the song was inspired by a real experience. “Stan” (plural “Stans”) has now established itself in pop culture parlance and, apart from obsessive fan behavior, is also used to express harmless enthusiasm.
“Parasociality”: A term for one-sided fan relationships
Psychologists also summarize these dynamics in the term “parasocial relationships,” namely one-sided bonds between fans and media figures. “Fan culture is parasociality,” explains social psychologist Johanna Degen to dpa. “As in anything else in life, these relationships can have different strengths and emotional colors: there are friendly or romantic relationships, but there are also hate relationships,” adds media scientist Holger Schramm.
Becoming a fan: More than just music
Swiftie Kim Niehaus wants to remove the stigma of being a fan. Also because he associates many positive things with it. He said of the concert at the time: “I was 16 or 17, very young, very insecure about myself.” Taylor Swift encouraged her fans to be themselves when giving a speech. «And that you are more than the opinion that someone who doesn’t know you has about you. It touched me.”
For Niehaus, being a fan after this experience is about more than just the music. “I saw all the other Taylor fans having a great time, who thought it was cool, which I thought was great, without prejudice,” she explained.
Online and offline, he experiences fan culture primarily as a unifying element. “It definitely creates a great community,” he said. Since she enjoys exchanging on social media, she also started her fan account. Kim now has more than 30,000 followers on Instagram and more than 16,000 on TikTok. “I never thought I would get thousands of followers. It was important for me to find other people who liked what I liked, because I didn’t have that in my personal circle.”
What binds fans to stars
The mechanisms behind the admiration people give celebrities are as varied as the bonds themselves. “Some people use this to compensate for their own weaknesses and shortcomings,” says Schramm. Others may see stars as role models who can provide incentives. Some are looking for orientation, others don’t have a strong emotional connection.
“Most people don’t compensate anything, but are simply blown away by the feeling of emotional closeness to someone who has become a star.”
Social media influences the way fan culture is lived
The closeness between stars and audiences is not a new phenomenon, Schramm explains. Even youth magazines like “Bravo” give the impression of personal intimacy through posters or interviews. However, this form of greeting has changed through social media. “Today, these opportunities are multiplied thanks to social media and users are encouraged to get closer to the stars.” Digital proximity can encourage a sense of belonging, but it can also lead to dependency, as social needs also merge with economic interests, explains social psychologist Degen. «This approach is specifically designed for intimacy and exclusivity. This leads to connection, loyalty and a feeling of indebtedness, which can then be effectively converted into clicks and purchases.”
Influencer Marie Joan recently demonstrated in a YouTube video how close this dynamic is to actual border crossings. In this case he explained that fans kissed him on the street because they felt close to him. “But I don’t know you, please don’t kiss me like that,” he said.
Extreme fans and extreme behavior
Dynamics like this can pose risks for both parties. “Influencers often feel uncomfortable when their followers/fans are close to them,” said Degen. “But to them, it feels natural because they spend a lot of time with the influencer and basically think they know them.” Being an extreme fan sometimes has extreme consequences. “Zeit” author Jens Balzer recently wrote about how some journalists who criticized Swift’s new album received serious threats online. This article shows how digital loyalty can be recharged. Often it’s no longer about the music or content, but about a sense of belonging. “When the idol is attacked, it’s like an attack on yourself,” Schramm said.
For Niehaus, all the nuances of being a fan are obvious. “In every fan scene, there are people who go to extremes, thinking they are friends with the artist or going into debt to buy merchandise.”
Additionally, there’s a double standard: “For a football fan who watches every game – he’s loyal, he’s passionate about something, he’s got passion, and someone who might be a fan of a female artist who goes to some live concerts is overrated, hysterical, or doesn’t know how to handle his money.”
© dpa-infocom, dpa:251115-930-296222/1
