Research on Intense Fandom

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Research on Intense Fandom

Celebrity worship

Maltby et al. (2004) – in a sample of 372 people aged 18-47, 15% were at entertainment-social level, 5% at the intense-personal level and less than 2% were considered borderline-pathological.

Scores on the intense-personal level predict anxiety and depression scores (Maltby et al.2001).

Celebrity worship is a representation of poor psychological well-being, the result of failure to cope with the pressures of everyday life.

The deaths of Princess Diana and Jill Dando led to the discovery of parasocial bereavement, as many who posted messages on BBC website  revealed how they they had ‘come to know’ these celebrities.

Stalking

Involves repeated and persistent attempts to impose unwanted communication and/or contact on another person.

Two major types of stalker:

Love obsession stalkers are unable to develop normal personal relationships and may suffer from delusional thought patterns or even schizophrenia.

Simple obsessional stalkers distinguished by some pre-existing personal or romantic relationship with the victim.

Cyberstalking

Includes sending unwanted texts, e-mails etc. Because it has the advantage of anonymity, it…

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Former Member

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Really helpful. Maybe you could have provided some more commentary on stalking.

Perceptions of Cyberstalking

•Evidence suggests that cyberstalking may not be taken as seriously as other forms of stalking. For example, Alexy et al (2005) gave students a brief description of a real life case of cyberstalking. Although this was a serious case that resulted in prosecution, only 30% of the students judged the behaviours involved to be ‘stalking’. 

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