Do you agree with this tweet about idols and fans? Idols help fans develop mental illness?

I think it's a bit much to say idols cause mental illness. I think only a small, mostly young group of fans get too into parasocial stuff, and idols aren't fully in control. Companies are the ones really fueling it.

Quote from echo-sage

I think it's a bit much to say idols cause mental illness. I think only a small, mostly young group of fans get too into parasocial stuff, and idols aren't fully in control. Companies are the ones really fueling it.

I don't think it's just young fans and a lot of older kpop fans are too into parasocial stuff. I agree that it's not fair to blame idols because most likely instructions from companies fueling it. It's up to the company to tell idols to tone it down. The issue is these type of fans are the ones that are spending a lot of money on a group, so companies refrain from setting boundaries between idols and fans. It's a very messy cycle, and companies need to set boundaries but financially it makes sense why they don't.

Quote from StanGIDLE

I don't think it's just young fans and a lot of older kpop fans are too into parasocial stuff. I agree that it's not fair to blame idols because most likely instructions from companies fueling it. It's up to the company to tell idols to tone it down. The issue is these type of fans are the ones that are spending a lot of money on a group, so companies refrain from setting boundaries between idols and fans. It's a very messy cycle, and companies need to set boundaries but financially it makes sense why they don't.

agree. it’s really on the companies to set limits. The cycle’s messy, but imo idols aren’t the ones calling the shots.

I voted half-half bc a normal human being would never think their idols are their bf/gf even if the idol said so, but this is kpop and this industry had, has and will thrive on parasocial relationship with idols calling fans their "girlfriends", acting like they are jealous if their fans are cheering or talking about others idols, groups and even members of their own groups, they feed this shit so much and some are notorious for this.

I find it specially worst when the said idols aren't some rookies that "need" this, but some veterans who have enough fame and money like sometimes the idols themselves have some mental illness to be feeding this shit.

We still have no dating rules, so as long as the companies act like dating is a scandal and idols act like dating their own fans isn't a "scandal", the reaction of crazy fans aren't exactly that crazy considering they are being fed to believe this narrative.

Not all idols though, I think this is mainly a male idols issue.

In the end just don't give a fool any reason, bc when they finally go mad, you won't be able to act as if you weren't part of it.

I voted Half-half but it's not like, completely on the idols. Though I will say that I do think some idols enable their fans... not gonna name drop but one of my faves gets a suspicious side-eye from me sometimes. Most of the time, though, companies force idols to do things that enable delusions of fans. It's the fan's responsibility at the end of the day, but the industry can be very predatory on consumers.

I think it depends on how optimistic or pessimistic you are about society

I can say my view on k-pop in general is already very tarnished, at some point we just choose to delude ourselves or not

Idols don't help people to develop mental illnesses. In fact, what happens is that they have behavioral patterns that create opportunities for this type of audience to connect with them.

If K-pop didn't exist, they would simply be obsessed with something else/someone else in an unhealthy way

Companies and artists feed into the delusion, but they didn't create the delusion.

It was already there to begin with lol. I do think some KPOP group members do over do it. I remember that Jinyoung from GOT7 made it a point to tell fans he was not their boyfriend, and every time they said, "will you marry me?", the answer was a quick and firm no.

Of course that won't stop mentally ill people from being mentally ill and obsessive. It might even encourage some people to try harder lol, but it does help establish some boundaries for those people who lack or ignore common sense. Also eliminates the excuse some fans use by pointing out past behavior by KPOP artists that feed into the parasocial relationships.

the first question is:

what exactly is the mental illness in question? parasocialism?? is that considered a mental illness?? excessive obsession over something? is that considered a mental illness?

secondly everybody has an obligation to take care of their own interests and their own wellbeing - doesn't mean we cannot seek help but the primary obligation is on the individual

an idol's job is to sell themselves - I've always said the product that a company is selling is the idols themselves - if a person is addicted to a kpop idol or group then again is the addiction considered a mental illness?

We need to stop coddling fans. We already go insane trying to infantilize grown ass idols, let's stop coddling fans too.

Everyone knows that idols are just doing fanservice. They literally have NO CLUE WHO YOU ARE WHY IN GODS NAME WOULD YOU EVER THINK THEY ARE YOUR GIRLFRIENDS OR BOYFRIENDS????

We buy tix, stream vids, buy merch, retweet hashtags with the full knowledge that it's just all fantasy. Idol worship is not a problem, we've been doing it since the days of Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and the Beatles, and probably since the days of Gladiator tbh. But as long as we have a functioning brain cell, we should know that it's nothing but fantasy and not real life.

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