Hey guys, WOR$T BLOG IN AMERICA is back!! Following last posts update about discourse community and the focus on Stan Twitter, today we are facing the underlying problem that this community faces. It’s no secret that one of Stan Twitter’s main goal is to defend and prove that one’s favorite artist is the greatest of all time, but when does this goal become toxic? Stan Twitter faces many parasocial issues that potentially lead to toxicity and inappropriate fan behavior.
Yes, I know–I have spent two weeks talking about how funny and amazing this discourse community is, but there is a line that society shouldn’t cross, and there is a dark side of this platform that occasionally passes that threshold.
We all have favorite celebrities and all want to share our opinions on them, which is what Stan Twitter is all about, but there have been endless occasions on which users have taken their ability to pledge loyalty as an excuse to bully or harass others for having differing opinions from themselves. Business Insider for Style Magazine summarizes one person’s experience with bullying on the app, “He [Anonymous] received emails and direct messages containing homophobic language, memes edited to show the artist holding a gun, and comments telling him to keep his mouth shut,” (Insider). This reflect the hate that some users have on this platform. Ethan received these messages because he wrote an article on someone’s favorite artists, implying that the artist should take a year off of making music, and this is the response he received due to it. Many on Stan twitter have some type of parasocial relationship with these artists, believing that they are entitled to bully others in order to defend them, even though who they are really defending is actually a complete stranger. They usually believe they are justified in their actions because they are defending their favorites, even though most artists and celebrities speak out against this type of behavior.
Fifth Harmony singer, Lauren Jauregui, also experienced the toxicity of Stan Twitter. In an article for Nylon, she reflects on her experience of being radicalized by society on the app. Memes were made about her, she was slut-shamed, and constantly hated on her. While Stan Twitter has funny moments, publicly scrutinizing these people for simply living life is not acceptable. It not only affects people using the app, but also the celebrities who can see these posts.
While no one can control what people say either online or in-person, people should be mindful to the effects that some things that are said can be extremely hurtful. The feeling most haters have while defending their artists, mostly are manifested out of delusion. But again, Stan twitter is not all negativity, it is a really awesome community when surrounded by positive users, so that is why I value it so much. But anyway, this also goes out to everyone online and in-person, be mindful of your actions and the consequences!
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