by Cliff Vacin ‘25

In the past couple of years, the relationship between celebrities and their fans has taken a huge shift. Obsessed fans of celebrities tend to have “parasocial” relationships, where a fan obsesses over a celebrity or online figure who doesn’t know they exist. The targets of these obsessions are typically media personalities, such as famous musicians, TV and movie actors, and online personalities who have a prominent media presence. From this comes a deeply obsessive fan culture that revolves around conspiracy theories, fixation, and in worst-case scenarios, stalking.
There are many notable cases of famous people with a large, captivated fanbase. To name a few: Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, many K-pop groups such as BTS, and especially Taylor Swift. While many of Swift’s fans don’t cross the line between appreciation and obsession, a number of them are enthralled in her life, tracking personal details from her Instagram account and even going as far as tracking her location.

A good chunk of Taylor-related conspiracy theories have made it into mainstream media, most recently one about her connection to a rigged Super Bowl through her boyfriend and NFL player, Travis Kelce. While most of these conspiracy theories are neither malicious nor harmful, the culture created by the conspiracies perpetuates a cult-like obsession among celebrities’ most dedicated fans.

Many female streamers on Twitch and YouTube have had obsessive fans as well, to the point where their safety has been compromised several times. Several notable streamers have been stalked online and occasionally in person by fans who believe themselves to be in real relationships with them romantically or platonically. Parasocial relationships with these streamers can also cause conspiracies, which is worse for streamers, as they tend to have a very interactive audience. This can cause a lot of false and harmful information to be spread throughout smaller communities.

Many people in fanbases like those tend to make celebrities their personality, using their appreciation or infatuation with a certain celebrity as a way to relate to like-minded peers. The obsession ranges from the most innocent of fan accounts on social media to downright stalking and threats to the celebrity’s safety. Liking an artist to an extent and being a part of a fanbase is normal. However, obsession and creating a parasocial relationship with a person who is unaware of the other’s existence, is not.

While believing that you have a fully developed relationship with a celebrity who doesn’t know who you are is strange, many parasocial relationships don’t stop there. Many celebrities may deal with harassment from fans after doing something deemed unfavorable by the fanbase or could deal with stalkers online and in person. Media personalities should be allowed to feel safe without the invasion of obsessive fans into their private lives.