All of us, in one way or another, have been fans of something before. Whether it be of a musician, drink, brand, actor, show, or anything else, we have all been a part of fan culture in one way or another. But what happens when people become too obsessed with people who are in the limelight? As we have learned from incidents like when people called CPS on Love Island contestant Huda Mustafa because she cursed on the show or, more broadly, when fans generally oversensualize a person, forming an unhealthy obsession with them, nothing good can come from these parasocial relationships that crazed fans form with famous individuals. 

For many “fans,” it can be hard to acknowledge that these famous people don’t know that they even exist. For the content that these people make, this is a good thing, but for the fans and the subject of their fascination, this can lead to extremely harmful consequences. Social media has exacerbated this difficulty faced by fans because it allows them to get a look into the true lives of celebrities. In previous years, this connection was only allowed through paparazzi and interviews which often feel cynical and abstract, but now social media allows for hourly updates on their newest obsession’s day-to-day activities. As Joanne Ingram, a psychology lecturer, explains, “Celebrity engagement with social media may allow people to believe that their feelings are reciprocated.” She goes on to mention that this type of bond was not fostered by traditional media but it is rather a relatively new phenomenon created by social media.

This makes people feel like they are connected with someone whom they have never met and feel as though they are close friends. Far too many people will go online hysterically sobbing about their favorite celebrity couple breaking up or getting upset if their favorite influencer misses a day of posting. They fantasize about a life where these celebrities are everyday people and act as though they are old friends, while simultaneously holding celebrities to an unattainable standard that has changed the way we view celebrities, as well as the value we place on them—and online culture as a whole. 

Not only do parasocial relations have significantly pragmatic social implications, but these types of “bonds” also alter fans’ mental wellbeing. The parasocial relationship, other than significant mental illnesses, is one of the main reasons why people fall into tendencies of stalking influencers and celebrities. People in parasocial relationships tend to feel lonely and separated from society since someone with whom they have formed such a tightly bound connection doesn’t even recognize their existence other than as one, of many, of their fans.

I began to really become aware of the impact that parasocial relationships were having on society, or at least on my TikTok algorithm, when the latest season of Love Island USA aired this summer, nearly every day, on Peacock. As someone who has watched Love Island USA for years, I was extremely shocked by the coverage that last year’s season, the sixth of the series, got on social media. It seemed out of nowhere. Sure, the contestants themselves were interesting, but this is not abnormal for reality TV. With this increase of attention on, what used to be, a retrospectively smaller reality TV show came with great anticipation for the next season—and even higher expectations for said season to outperform the last. When season seven finally aired, it became very clear to me that some “fans” simply just couldn’t let go of the past year’s season. 

Compared to prior seasons, season six completely changed the show’s trajectory. In the past if you went on Love Island, you may hear people who were avid watchers quote certain “iconic” lines from the show, but these lines never became a real trend or audio on platforms such as TikTok. In addition to this, contestants on the show could usually go about their regular day-to-day lives with minimal recognition by the public. The complete opposite was seen during and after season six. Contestants from this season are still being quoted, admired, and getting thousands of views on social media platforms. Fans are fascinated by the cast, specifically with a group who called themselves PPG: Leah Kateb, Serena, and JaNa Craig, and their partners, Miguel, Kordell Beckham, and previously, Kenny. Constantly throughout season seven, these past contestants were mentioned, and Serena and JaNa were even brought on to be guests on an episode of Aftersun, a talk show which is interconnected with Love Island USA. 

I mention all of these specific details on the show and its newly found fame to give context to the fan involvement that was seen with season seven. Unlike season six, the most recent cast resembled ordinary people rather than stars born for reality TV. Though a majority of the actions done by the cast of season 7 were normal by Love Island standards, new fans who had made an obsession out of this show couldn’t grasp this fact.

One of the main cast members, Huda Mustafa, started the show out on an extremely rocky start. Within five episodes, she was cussing and screaming at the man, Jeremiah, that she had been coupled with since the first episode. Though this is not abnormal for Love Island, the media’s reaction to it was. Due to her crude behavior, overly obsessive fans called CPS on her and got into heated arguments with other fans. This was the first of many incidents of this kind that would continue to occur throughout the course of the show, such as the racist backlash that Chelly, Ace, Olandria, and Huda, people having opinions on whether a couple “needs” to get back together, etc., with some of these overtly obsessed fans still existing months after the show’s reunion at the end of August. 

Overall, it is clear that fan culture and parasocial relationships can definitely have negative effects on both celebrities and fans alike. But I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that though the negatives may seem to outweigh them, there are various positive effects to parasocial relationships. Cleveland Clinic says that “parasocial relationships can inspire us to be creative, encourage us to take creative risks, and teach us new things about the world we live in.” Furthermore, the Clinic said relationships can serve as a gateway for people to have role models, can reduce loneliness, and can even help people fulfill their wishes without having to be the actual ones doing the things of their dreams, though the latter is typically seen in a more controversial way.

Parasocial relationships are not inherently bad or good, they just are. To benefit from this form of relationship, one has to be in a good mental condition. When this sanity is lacking is when we see the extreme negatives such as stalking that many celebrities have been forced to deal with from their crazed fans. The best we can do as individuals is to mitigate the value we put on different public figures and see them rather as individuals in the limelight with thousands of people watching them everyday. We should value the connection that parasocial relationships allow, but we always need to keep a semblance of caution in mind.