It’s normal to feel an attachment to your favorite singer, or your favorite actor from a movie you connect with, but there’s a hard line between appreciation and fixation. With help from social media, this line gets blurrier by the day. Nearly everyone knows someone who will argue to the death about their favorite celebrity. If not, I’m sure you’ve seen a few arguments in a TikTok comment section, where someone has eagerly replied, “You’re too invested.” The simple statement seems overused, but rarely untrue.
Technology has changed the way we interact with people and given us more access to people who aren’t nearby. Social media has given individuals a memory archive, quicker access to those we know or want to know, and most importantly, everyone has a platform to share their thoughts. On the surface, these are gifts, yet sometimes I wonder if we have taken it too far. With influencers now being only a few taps on a screen away, the illusion of an intimate relationship allows viewers to form an emotional connection with carefully curated content.
Some fans become fixated on the idea of the influencer, in both positive and negative ways. Daily posting, seemingly intimate online interactions, and the allure of “authentic” content are captivating, and some forget that it’s still just content. Those who put themselves on the internet spend time and money for the purpose of designing their aesthetic and shaping their image to hook people’s attention, without actually revealing too much. This is the risk of fixation on influencers; viewers may connect with the influencer’s persona rather than their true personality. However, when personas fall, viewer reactions can be unpredictable.
In recent years, accountability and public scrutiny have become a trend, and the actions of influencers began to be heavily analyzed, sometimes going as far as resurfacing hateful tweets from over 10 years ago. Admittedly, I thought some revelations were alarming, but the attacks often felt more like trying to provoke a celebrity rather than a social justice call. Sometimes, internet users seem to forget that those being scrutinized are human, and they shouldn’t have been placed on a pedestal in the first place.
Overall, art is made to be loved and those with talent should be appreciated, but it’s important to set the boundary between admiration and obsession. Social media has distorted many people’s ability to separate reality from online, because of how tightly intertwined they are. When scrolling, don’t forget that what you see online doesn’t paint a full picture of reality, and your life goes beyond the borders of your screen. Enjoy art, follow the influencer, and applaud their talent, but don’t lose sight of yourself by over-investing in others.
