Taylor Swift Every night on her “Ellas” tour, she takes the stage to an arena filled with screaming fans. Many of her fans paid hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars for tickets, arrived in Swift-inspired attire, and waited in line for the singer's entrance. Purchase your tour merchandise and get ready for a 1-hour experience of singing all the lyrics to your favorite singer's songs. But Swift's shockwaves don't end there.
Then go watch the singer's concert footage, engage with Swiftie content online, theorize about her respective relationships (romantic or platonic), and maybe even watch her cheer on her boyfriend. Some people may come to watch the City Chiefs game. travis kelsey.
Some might call this the nature of being a fan, others might call it obsession. However, it turns out that such classifications are not subjective, but rather a study of the level of celebrity worship, which can tell us something about the cognitive and psychological abilities of the admirers themselves.
What is celebrity worship?
According to psychologist Lynne McCutcheon, celebrity worship is the phenomenon of growing admiration for a famous person, which can manifest as an excessive interest in the celebrity's life. The editor-in-chief of the North American Journal of Psychology said he has spent more than 20 years studying fan behavior and defining its various expressions, which can be both benign and potentially harmful. I discovered something.
Interest in this topic dates back to the 1950s, when the concept of “parasocial relationships” was established, referring to the one-sided relationships people have with celebrities and public figures. This is driven by the increased accessibility of television personalities and has evolved over the years as new forms of media give people the idea that they are their own thing. know Their favorite celebrities.
Although celebrity worship is considered to be a continuum, it is measured by a questionnaire co-created by McCutcheon in 2002 called the Celebrity Attitudes Scale, which divides behaviors into three categories.
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Level 1 represents interest in celebrities for entertainment purposes. “I really enjoy learning about the life stories of my favorite celebrities” is one of his survey items that matches this type of fan base.
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Level 2 refers to people who identify more deeply and personally with their favorite celebrities. The statement “I consider my favorite celebrity to be my soulmate'' is probably true for people at this level.
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Level 3 is called “borderline pathological” and indicates a more severe impact on an individual's behavior and attitude. “If I were lucky enough to meet my favorite celebrity and they asked me to do something illegal as a favor, I would probably do it,” is what any celebrity admirer would agree with. That's an obvious statement.
McCutcheon's scale illustrates how celebrity worship can go from mere curiosity to a kind of addiction. But Samantha Brooks, a postdoctoral researcher at King's College London who has studied celebrity worship, told Yahoo Life that the most extreme levels are also the rarest.
Why do people worship celebrities?
The parasocial nature of relationships allows individuals to feel truly connected to the celebrities they see and hear through screens every day. And with the proliferation of social media, these interactions are no longer so one-sided.
“Twenty years ago, we didn't tend to know this much about celebrities' personal lives. You might see the odd interview with them here and there, but that was it,” says Brooks. . “Many celebrities now openly post about their personal lives, thoughts, feelings, opinions, daily life, etc. on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, etc., which are much more 'accessible'.”
As a result, they may feel more relatable, but many aspects of their lives remain distant and aspirational to viewers.
“I think a lot of people idolize certain celebrities because they want to be like them, especially if they see certain traits of themselves in their favorite celebrity. It's easy to think, “I'm better than I am today,'' Brooks says. “Celebrity admiration can be a bit of escapism for people, so by clinging to someone who we think has this wonderful, glamorous, easy life, we can reduce our daily stress and You can escape from the stress.”
Revealing a more intimate relationship with that person can also “fill in the gaps in that person's life,” she explains. “We may empathize with people who have attributes that we feel are missing in our own lives, and our attachment to celebrities, even if parasocial and unrewarding, may be It could be a kind of compensation for the lack of authenticity: real intimacy, real attachment to people in our own lives.
This is beneficial to some extent. “Attachment to celebrities can actually help young people develop a sense of identity and autonomy, and help them recognize the kind of people they want to be,” Brooks says. Research shows it can also help someone develop a sense of community, which can help fight loneliness.
When is celebrity worship a problem?
Celebrity worship can become a problem when admiration becomes an obsession.
“It is dangerous if: [an attachment to a celebrity] “We put so much emphasis on it that it erodes our real-life relationships and friendships, and we become overly obsessed with celebrity,” Brooks says. An example of the latter can be seen in the extreme case of celebrity stalking. Or even in the way fans interact with celebrities and others on social media.
Obsessions can cause feelings of distress and encourage addictive behaviors. “For example, spending time or money you don't have or going into debt for celebrity products or endorsements are unhealthy behaviors,” therapist Nicolette Rianza says via Shondaland .
However, a growing body of research suggests that a severe obsession with celebrities may also indicate that a certain mental illness is already present in the person. McCutcheon's latest research on the subject even suggests a link between high levels of celebrity worship and poor cognitive performance.
“Celebrity obsession can interfere with cognitive performance due to the high concentration and attention required to maintain this one-sided emotional bond,” IFLScience reports. “People with higher intelligence levels may be less likely to idolize celebrities because they are better able to recognize the marketing strategies behind them.”
According to Brooks, embracing your inner fangirl is probably not a problem, so you can continue to enjoy your Swiftie playlist with confidence.
“There's nothing wrong with it,” Brooks says of fandom. “Most people don't really care about that.”
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