Why Stans Do What They Do.

All it takes is one wrong tweet.

One wrong comparison about their favs and Stans will descend on you with the energy of a thousand e-warriors.

All it takes is one wrong comparison or tweet about Wizkid for you to feel the wrath of the ever-present, ever committed and resilient fan base in Nigeria.

The word Stan was coined by Eminem in 2000 when he released a song titled 'Stan' about a fan who was pushed to the edge when his idol (Eminem) wouldn’t reply his mail – isn’t that a little coo-coo?

Since the inception of the stan persona different celebrities have discovered immense potentials of Stans they even have names now, Lady Gaga has her Little monsters, Beyoncé has BeyHives, Justin Bieber's Beliebers, Nicki Minaj’s Barbz and our very own Wizkid’s Wizkid Fc.

One of the most prominent reasons why Stans are so popular is their staunch unwillingness to accept criticism. They believe you are wrong and they are always right and if you don’t accept their opinion you are not seeing things clearly.

A new media communications professor at Oregon State University, Dr. Daniel Faltesek says Stans do what they do because of a key idea called parasocial interaction.

Parasocial interaction is a hypothesis that focuses on a one-sided relationship, usually a fan toward a celebrity, where the fan exerts lots of energy, time, and feelings into the celeb with the celeb being unaware of the existence of such person.

Social media has created an illusion for stans, they believe they are close to the celebrity even friends with them, and since they are friends its only right to defend and protect them. Social media has bridged the gap and made fans feel like they are constantly connected to the artist they love.

Is The Stan Culture harmful?

Short answer, yes.

When motivated towards causing harm they can be dark, obsessive and bat shit crazy, In South Korea, a member of a boy band(2 pm) experienced this first hand when he ( Taec-Yeon) received a letter from a fan written entirely in, wait for it. Menstrual Blood



Let’s bring it home, for their infamous Loose Talk Podcast episode, 'What's your shoe size?' Wizkid Fc stormed the Pulse Nigeria building over comments made about Wizkid, the energy, time, and feeling they exert into celebs can be harmful.

They go as far as dragging, shaming, and even sending death threats to people who do not accept their line of reasoning, can’t say I blame anyone who doesn’t.

BUT

Beneath constant bickering about their favs greatness, beneath the dragging and heated debates, their actions come from a place of love toward their favorite artist as per parasocial interaction they seek to defend and protect the artist.

They protect, respect, and will not let anyone talk smack about their favorite artist.

Stans are a group of people who come together regardless of their personal biases to celebrate, support, and elevate the artist they adore. For an artist that’s a goldmine they blow up streaming numbers, advertise the artist without any chance of payment, and fill up shows screaming or fainting at the sight of the artist. Or both.

For example, Wizkid Fc got Terri trending for two days straight all it took was Wizkid announcing Terri’s new project, and the rest was left to the standom, they got the job done.

Supporting an artist you adore is wonderful, I love Burna Boy but equally important is separating admiration from obsession, and Stans need to understand that dedicating their entire livelihood to another person is not healthy.

Admire but don’t obsess.