Whenever I pull up X or Instagram to start my daily dose of doom scrolling, I come across a plethora of posts bashing other artists and musicians for simply existing. Some posts say things such as “What a flop” or “Tanked,” which essentially mean something negative like their career isn’t as idolized or relevant as it used to be. Looking through all these posts I think, who has the time to nit pick and type up a few words that can be detrimental to someone’s reputation? I think that stan culture is a pointless and meaningless reason to be engaged on the internet.
I’ve noticed stan culture since the COVID-19 pandemic. Those times when there was nothing to do during the long quarantine months, I just scrolled through social media. It was there I found out all the celebrity news I could get my hands on, like Ariana Grande’s Positions album and BLACKPINK’s long awaited comeback. But over time as I became more aware of what people were saying online, I really wondered if people actually cared about their digital footprint. I think it takes a certain amount of bravery and pride to be able to tell the world what you think about your favorite celebrity or era and especially your least favorite celebrities and their flop eras.
While it is fine to be a fan of a celebrity, or a critic of one, it is never okay to put someone’s life at risk just because they criticized something your favorite celebrity made. A content creator named Erick Louis had a pizza delivered to him by an unknown addressee on Jan. 27, 2024. After finding that out, his phone started piling with random phone numbers calling him. Later on he realized that he had been doxxed after he criticized Nicki Minaj’s new song at the time, “Big Foot.” The practice of doxxing and harassment is common on apps like X and Instagram but it is crazy to me how stans are so quick to expose someone because of a small dislike. Everyone is allowed to have opinions on certain songs and we should be respectful of that. Doxxing someone is incredibly disrespectful and unacceptable. That person’s life is at risk now because of a harmless comment and incidents like this unfortunately occur too often.
Another example of this online behavior is when TWICE, a K-Pop girl group, was announced to perform at Lollapalooza. Fans of Stray Kids were angered at this, saying that there should have been a boy group to headline instead of a girl group. Even though the mask of the internet is strong and taken advantage of frequently, we shouldn’t use it to go against people who like a certain group.
It’s perfectly fine to like a celebrity or group because it aligns with your interests but it’s never okay to have a parasocial relationship with them because you are dedicated to their music or work. It takes a lot of time to get to know someone; it doesn’t mean they are your best friend immediately. We should appreciate celebrities for what they have to offer to the world, not spend the rest of your life having to defend them from stans of other celebrities. It’s not worth the digital footprint and your time. And it’s definitely not worth doxxing someone over.
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Isabel Vidrio is a junior with a major in journalism and a minor in public health. She is also a part of UnderSkore, the University of Arizona’s first official K-pop dance team. Her interests include music, anime, video games and pop culture.
