By Hasreen Syazana
Celebrities are key players in the media who bring about a huge influence on their fans. To establish their relevance in the industry, it is direly needed to communicate with the fans as fans are the ones who consume their work; whether in acting, singing, modelling or as a TV personality. Thanks to technology, it is easier and accessible for the celebrities to communicate with their fans as time passes.
In the 1950s, the age of television, Horton and Wohl observed a phenomenon between celebrities and their fans they described as “the interaction, characteristically, is one-sided, non-dialectical, controlled by the performer, and not susceptible of mutual development”, later known as a para-social relationship.
They explained that the performer adopts a persona—a figure he plays in public—and provides an ongoing relationship with the fans. As the persona shares more about themselves to the fans, they are alluded to believe that they know the performer in-person which breeds spectators’ loyalty towards the performer.
Before social media
This phenomenon is not new. Before social media exists, the pseudo-relationship is being maintained by traditional media such as magazines, newspaper and television. The only direct communication the fans can get from celebrities was when they were clamouring for the celebrities’ attention amidst chaos.
Before, the only way to get to know the celebrities is by watching a movie they were in, the interviews mediated by TV channels, magazines, and newspaper. With that, some parts were being cut off, or worse, manipulated to suit the public’s perception of the celebrity. Hence, the fans only see the side of the celebrity that the media wish to portray.
The aid of social media
Nowadays, majority of people use social media. It has become ubiquitous to the point that one is considered as suspicious if they claim to not have a social media account. Celebrities now do not have to rely on traditional media such as newspapers and TV channels to get their point across. They can communicate with their followers and fans through social media using their own words and thoughts.
But this direct communication through social media fuels para-social relationship between a celebrity and their fans. With social media, the view of their lifestyle has become accessible to the masses and they interact with fans as though they are friends in real life. It is a norm to see a celebrity turned on their Live on Instagram and talked to their fans like friends do.
For example, celebrities engaging with their fans through social media by replying to their Tweets or comments on Instagram, led the fans to believe that they know each other or at least the fans know the celebrity’s personality and attitude.
Another example that brings a celebrity-fan relationship to a paramount level of intimacy is the application Lysn or Bubble which allows the fans to receive private messages from the K-pop idol(s) that they subscribed to. The application is designed to resemble a one-to-one messaging format and the idol will use the fan’s real name to address them, giving the impression that they are texting each other just like friends and partners do.
As the relationship continues, the fans being emotionally attached and spend every day being notified of the updates about the celebrity enabled them to be influenced by the celebrities’ actions or thoughts. This is why celebrity-endorsed products are successful and widely marketed. The celebrities can influence their emotionally-attached fans to buy the products they endorsed.
Stan Twitter
Following the celebrities on social media is a great way to get updated about them. Another way to get updates about the celebrities is by joining stan Twitter. Originating from Eminem’s song of the same title name, Stan, refers to an obsessed fan in the song. Some postulated that it is a combination of the word ‘stalker’ and ‘fan’.
She doesn’t know you like I know you, Slim,
No one does
The lyrics from the song epitomises the concept of para-social relationship. Stan Twitter, however, is in a limbo between stalkers and fans but what they do have in common is that the platform allows them to talk about the celebrities they admire with people who share the same interests. It has become such a norm that fans nowadays called stans altogether.
Stan Twitter reinforces para-social relationship by having the fans think and talk about the celebrities in their daily lives (assuming that they log in their Stan account every day, of which most do). When a person thinks and talk about the celebrity a lot, they are bound to be attracted to the celebrity as well because they tend to like the celebrity as they are frequently exposed to them, a real-life example of mere exposure effect.
In Stan Twitter, you are encouraged to talk about the celebrity because it brings you likes, retweets, and comments from people who can relate. Some even make friends in Stan Twitter and they bonded thanks to their affinity towards their favourite celebrity. And if you are lucky, you will get recognised by the celebrity.
This encourages them to stay on Stan Twitter. If left unchecked, the para-social relationship can turn into a delusion where they believe that they are significant in the celebrity’s life such as believing that they are married and more.
Celebrities play an important role in life as they are a source of inspiration and entertainment, but admiring them should be done in a reasonable and adequate manner to avoid engaging in an illusion of a relationship that can be detrimental to one’s functioning in life.***