Fan Culture and Effects

Fan Culture

When you're famous, you're constantly being watched and talked about. From paparazzi disrespecting your space to people tweeting about how annoying you are, you have seen all types of attention.

One type of attention is interactions with fans. It could be a great opportunity to connect with the people who look up to you, or it could be a reason you never want to be seen by the public again. 

Fan culture can not only be toxic for the fans themselves, but celebrities are often affected themselves, making fan culture seem horrible. All celebrities have fans, that's why they are famous. At least a few people love them. 

But celebrities have been severely hurt, not just by physical assault, but by emotional turmoil. All because of their fans. 

Conspiracy theories will forever be a part of pop culture. With the rise in technology, information is spread so far, so quickly. Social media, messaging, news, AI, you name it. They all spread information across the globe in milliseconds

Reasons

Sometimes Theories are made up and spread for many reasons. You want to take advantage of a very vulnerable group, or you want to show how foolish people can be. Either way, those who believe certain theories usually believe them because they lack identity, control, and certainty.

People lack a sense of self and want to belong to something. Humans naturally want to be a part of a community. When you are in a community with people who believe in the same things you do, you immediately feel certain. You're given an explanation for something that has been on your mind. For Avril's Body Double theorists, these people noticed a change in Avril but never knew what exactly the reason could be. Her voice changed, her personality changed, and her face looks a little different in the newest album promo photos. But her being replaced gives reasoning to the beliefs. You're certain it's true because the phenomenon of her changes has no other explanation than the fact that Avril MUST be fake.

The same reasoning can be for Paul McCartney's theory, too. His facial features seemed to look different; there were some strange lyrics, and some artwork for albums had messages on them... but why? 

You hear get a paper from your college and see the speculations of Paul McCartney being dead... now you have a reason for your observations.

Melania Trump's face looks different, she doesn't want to be seen in public, and the White House won't even comment on her disappearance... but why?

Melanie comes back after 5 weeks of not being seen. She looks different, and the president himself even misspelled her name in a Tweet. You get notifications from people on Twitter and see people saying she was replaced. Now you have an explanation of whatever happened to the First Lady.

Some theories are harmless and are fun to joke about, but sometimes taking a theory too far can be dangerous. Whether it be body double conspiracy theories, or straight-out denying science, check your information and do the research before you fully believe something you found online.