Article: Parasocial and Social Interaction with Celebrities: Classification of Media Fans

by Gayle S. Stever, January 2009

This study developed a system of celebrity fan classification that addresses issues raised in the literature with regard to motivations for becoming a fan, and levels of intensity for fans, recognizing a dichotomy of interactive vs. isolated fans. There is a need to differentiate the fan suffering from pathologies from fans who are healthy and who lead normal and productive lives. This system of classification is based on 20 years of participant observation in various fan communities. Nine motivations (task, romantic, identification, and others) and five levels are described as the result of qualitative content analysis of documents written by 150 fans who answered the question “Why are you a fan of your favorite celebrity?” This system was developed after study of specific celebrities and their fans. As such it may not apply to fans of texts, genres, or cultural phenomena. While some fans were found to have very intense and obsessive interests in celebrities, a large subgroup of fans were in a less obsessive and more socially motivated category of fan, one motivated by interest in the work of the celebrity and in the potential for networking with other fans. Extremely obsessive or high level fans have the potential to do harm to both their celebrity objects or, more frequently, to themselves, but these high level fans are only a small percentage of the people who identify themselves as dedicated fans of a celebrity. Identifying specific fans who have the potential to be troublesome would be more efficient than assuming that all dedicated fans have this potential.