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Who Stans Celebrities on Social Media? The Role of...
Journal article

Who Stans Celebrities on Social Media? The Role of Gender, Sexual Orientation, and Political Ideology

Abstract

Fandoms of all types are increasingly using social media to share their love for their respective celebrities. Nonetheless, academic research on the identities, motives, and values of ultrafans—popularly known as “stans”—remains scarce. To fill this gap, we collected data from X (formerly Twitter) users in Study 1 (N = 407) and from Instagram, TikTok, X/Twitter, and other social media users in Study 2 (N = 472). We found a substantial prevalence of self-identified stans in these samples—35% and 21%, respectively. In both studies, stans were more likely to be female, LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, and more), and politically liberal compared to nonstans, and they most frequently stanned musicians, especially popular artists from South Korea (aka K-pop). Study 1 further revealed that stans who used X/Twitter, compared to nonstans, were higher in mental health literacy and the gratification of the need to connect with others on X/Twitter. However, Study 2 did not find that stans differed from nonstans in their more general feelings of social connectedness. Overall, this research provides new insight into stan communities: their identities, values, motives, and use of social media.

Authors

Marshall TC; Wu V; Pal Z

Journal

Psychology of Popular Media, , ,

Publisher

American Psychological Association (APA)

Publication Date

August 11, 2025

DOI

10.1037/ppm0000626

ISSN

2689-6567
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