Abstract
This paper examines the K-Pop fandom and how being a K-Pop stan can lead to psychological changes and affect mental health. It will also cover the financial risks that come with being part of the fandom. By interacting with social medias such as Instagram, Tik Tok, and V-Live, people are constantly exposed to their favourite idols every day. From parasocial relationships to body image, this paper will explore the negative aspects to being a K-Pop stan and will serve to make readers understand how and why this happens.
Introduction
In recent years, the K-Pop fandom has gained a large number of fans from around the world, with each falling in love with the music as well as the idols who perform this music. While K-Pop is a genre beloved by many, simply being a fan can severely change a person’s life. By developing parasocial relationships (PSR), many people live in delusion that their idol “belongs” to them or that they are an unreachable being held to a higher standard. This can lead to celebrity worship syndrome (CWS) which is an even more severe case caused as a result of PSRs. This can then lead to overspending, which puts many fans at financial risk. K-Pop stans are everywhere on social media platforms, constantly forming communities and groups dedicated to their idols. So, the question is, does social media play a part in influencing these fans?
What is a “stan”?
The origin of the word “stan” can be traced to an Eminem song of the same name released in 2000, which depicts the fictional dark story of a violently obsessive fan called Stan. It is also a portmanteau of the words “stalker” and “fan” respectively (Bermudez et al., 2020; Nelson, 2021). The term is mainly used towards K-Pop music artists but can also be used towards celebrities from other popular media industries. As one would expect from seeing the word “stalker”, naturally the word would have negative connotations that link to obsessive behaviour, however the term has evolved in recent years to simply refer to a fan who admires a celebrity slightly more than usual (Nelson, 2021). Being a stan means looking up to celebrities, following their social media, as well as being an enthusiastic and devoted fan (Bermudez et al., 2020; Merriam Webster, n.d.). Stans are part of fandoms, which are large fan communities dedicated to a certain celebrity or group.
Parasocial Relationships & Being “Delulu”
A parasocial relationship (PSR) commonly refers to an imaginative one-sided relationship formed between a fan and a popular celebrity figure and are typically found in teenagers and young adults. What starts off as a simple attraction or admiration, grows and grows as a result of interacting with the idol and finding out more about their personal life (Rasmussen, 2018). Fans participating in PSRs are attracted to the appearance and personality of their idol, or at least what is shown to them. While PSRs have been around for a long time, today it is much more common due to the presence of social media platforms. Apps that are mainly used by K-Pop fans include Instagram, Tik Tok, Twitter, and V-Live. By using social media, fans can interact with their favourite idols by commenting on a post or sending a message, giving the false sense that they are “talking” to them whether the message is actually being seen or not (Rasmussen, 2018). Situations like this can simulate real-life relationships where fans think that they are conversing with a friend. However, apps such as V-Live encourage this by allowing idols to livestream themselves in order to converse and interact with their fans. Fans are able to leave comments and likes, while the idols can read these comments and answer questions further giving fans the impression that they have gotten closer to them (Souders, 2022).
Indeed, forming PSRs can be considered beneficial since K-Pop idols such as BTS have been known to spread positive messages and commit charitable acts, but the fact that it can be taken too far has to be considered (Daly, 2020). Prolonged PSRs can eventually lead to celebrity worship syndrome (CWS) which can be further straining to an individual’s mental health. CWS can be linked to psychological factors such as anxiety, depression, and relationship issues which can then affect the intensity of this syndrome (Zsila et al., 2018). There are currently three levels of CWS with the first being Entertainment- Social, the second Intense-Personal and the third Borderline- Pathological each progressing into worse stages. Fans in the first category tend to love talking about their favourite celebrities and viewing information relating to them. Fans in the second category have intense feelings towards their favourite celebrities and constantly think about them, while fans in the last category would be willing to do anything to meet their favourite celebrities (Zsila et al., 2018).
In the K-Pop fandom, there is a term to call fans suffering from CWS which is “delulu” (short for delusional) though it is usually used in a jokingly manner. Fans that are “delulu” like to pretend to be in relationships with their favourite idols and create made-up fantasies relating to said idol (Abed, 2023). While this term is used light heartedly among fans, there also exists another term in the fandom that is used in much more serious manner. Sasaeng fans (sa meaning “private” and saeng meaning “life”), is a Korean term for obsessive fans that engage in activities such as stalking celebrities and invading their personal space (Valle, 2023). These fans resort to stealing personal items and finding out private information by using illegal means which include hacking or tracking through social media. A recent case involved a group called ENHYPEN, where Chinese fans not only waited for them to arrive at the airport, but also followed them to the hotel they were staying at and proceeded to record themselves dancing at the carpark (Turner, 2024).
Over-spending
Although PSRs and CWS can be concerning, many big K-Pop companies see this as a potential marketing strategy to gain publicity and profits. Due to engaging in parasocial relationships, many fans tend to feel an urge to purchase merchandise from their favourite groups or idols in order to support them. This can be caused by the strong connection that they feel to the artist that they love (Souders, 2022). Excessive spending can lead to financial risk as fans do not mind paying a certain amount of money as long as they get the item that they want. These items can include concert tickets, music albums, or other forms of merchandise such as clothes, plushies, and accessories (Souders, 2022; Ash, 2023). It is common for concert tickets to be bought out by bots and resold at ten times the original price, however, fans would still buy them so they could see their idols perform. According to Zhuang (2016), over-spending can also be linked to competitiveness between fans who assume that spending more money proves that they are the bigger fan.
In the K-Pop fandom, by buying albums, fans feel as if they are supporting their idols by contributing to music charts such as the global Billboard Top 100, Hanteo, and Circle, which then boosts their popularity and awards their hard work (Ash, 2023). Other than being supportive, fans are also drawn to the contents included within an album which include photocards, posters, stickers, and handwritten letters. During some album releases, many groups include a lottery-style system where fans have a chance to personally meet their favourite idols (Herman, 2020; Eden, 2023). This urges fans to buy multiple albums from specific stores and spend thousands of dollars to compete for something they may not even win. One purchase is equal to one draw, so the more you spend, the higher chance you have of winning hence the “lottery-style” system (Eden, 2023). Along with these “fansigns” there exists “fancalls” which operate on the same type of system, however instead of meeting in-person, they videocall the idols over the phone. While this can be considered good for fans, this practice may also be considered predatory since big companies are targeting people that are lost in parasocial relationships. Average people are competing with richer fans who likely have a higher chance of winning making it extremely unfair.
Inside most K-Pop albums, there exists “photocards” which are a popular item amongst collector fans. On Tik Tok alone, #photocard already has over a billion views, with videos showing unboxings, traded cards, and fans decorating them. Every time a group releases a new album, they release a brand-new set of cards with unreleased images of the idols printed on them. The thing is, however, is that it is randomised with each album only consisting of one card so one would have to buy multiple albums to complete a full set (Souders, 2022; Gloria, 2022). Since these photocards are considered collectible items, they have ranks of rarity ranging from the most common being found in albums to rare pre-order only and event-based cards. Collected cards are often sold by resellers on sites such as Twitter, eBay, Facebook, or Instagram. While Twitter is preferred in Asia, fans in Western countries tend to use Instagram sell their cards. A fan interviewed by VICE admitted to spending a total of $11,400 USD on over 350 photocards bought from sellers around the world. She posts her collection on Tik Tok to connect with other fans who share her love for K-Pop. Her most expensive card was worth $610 USD, and she claimed that it was worth buying due to its rarity of only 30 being made and that the idol is very handsome (Gloria, 2022).
Negative Self-Image
Other than the obsession with idols and spending money on them, it has been found that fans also obsess with the beauty standards that they think are right. By looking up to their favourite idols, some fans feel as if they need to follow them or look like them which could lead to negative body image and mental health (Utami, 2019). This is due to it being human nature to compare oneself to others that they see. According to Malacoff (2019), social media platforms such as Instagram are the main cause of spreading negative body image since idols often share their photos on them. When fans see these photos, they think that they look perfect and have the ideal body even though it is likely that the photos have been edited before being posted. This can lead to intense cases of celebrity worship where fans want cosmetic surgery and want to look thinner by following their diets.
Cosmetic surgery is commonly done in South Korea by teens and young adults, to the point where it is normal for parents to gift their children surgeries as a birthday or graduation present (W, 2019). These surgeries target areas of the face such as double eyelids, high nose, and jaw shaves. This is due to the unrealistic Korean beauty standards that are further exemplified by K-Pop idols. In Southeast Asian countries, fans tend to focus on achieving fair skin by dangerously bleaching it which could lead to long term health risks such as cancer and skin damage (Lee, 2023). Certainly not all fans tend to get surgery, but there has been one notable extreme case due to celebrity worship. This popular case is Oli London, the British influencer who was infamously known for trying to look like Jimin from BTS. Oli London identified as a transracial Korean, claiming to have transitioned from Caucasian to Korean and by 2022, underwent a total of 32 surgeries to try and look like their favourite K-Pop idol (Tran, 2021; Lenthang, 2022). This included multiple nose surgeries, chest reduction, eyelid shortening, and facial reconstruction. While cases like this are rare, it would not be surprising for another fan to do the same.
Dieting can be beneficial if one chooses to follow a legitimate healthy plan, however following an idol’s plan is not the best option. One extreme form of dieting is the “IU diet” named after the famous South Korean singer Lee Ji-Eun, better known as IU, which consisted of less than 400 calories a day. At the time, IU was suffering from anxiety and an eating disorder called bulimia nervosa. This diet included one apple in the morning, two sweet potatoes for lunch and one protein shake at night and was said to make her lose 5kg in the span of five days (Lin et al., 2021; Jeong, 2021). Sugathadasa (2023), claimed that many fans took it upon themselves to follow this strict diet in an attempt to achieve her ideal slim figure.
Conclusion
The K-Pop fandom, while having positive sides, has many underlying issues which affect the lives of their fans whether it is done directly or not. Through the lenses of parasocial relationships, celebrity worship syndrome, over-spending, and negative body image, this paper has dived into the question of whether being a “stan” leads to the development of unhealthy obsessions and relationships towards K-Pop idols. While being in any fandom, be advised to never become overly attached to celebrities, overspend, or try to be someone else as these can have detrimental effects.
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