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Why it’s okay to unstan
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Stan culture is toxically strong on twitter. Not that stanning is toxic in itself, the problem comes when people start to lose interest or aren’t a “good enough” Stan. I’m gonna explain my opinion on Unstanning, no matter it be idols, singers, youtubers etc. and why it’s okay
being a stan usually requires being interested in someone beyond what they put out/produce for their audience. For some people this can be quite tiring first off, so they will usually opt for being interested in the products. However when people stan at first and then lose
Interest it can be met with heaps of criticism. Overtime what people produce can change, and with that, our taste in content also changes overtime. This is a normal part of growing up. Artists will encounter new fans that are interested in what they are producing
The new fans’ interests will be met while you feel a little left in the dark. Fact is, we do not know these artists/creators and their product is their main way of reciprocating their feelings toward their fans. If you’re not being met with the right reciprocation you may seek
Finding other artists who fulfill that, causing you to abondon the stanning side of an artist. However you still may be a fan of their old (or even new) products/content. When you fell in love with these artist, you loved a part of them that may not be there anymore
Again, you can only intake what they give you. If you knew them irl you would probably still like them bc those aspects are still a part of them however, to you, they are completely gone. Here are some pretty popular examples that I thought of today:
Remember the huge yt crew back in the day? with British YouTubers and Connor, Tyler and Troye? I’m going to be talking about Connor Franta, Tyler Oakley and Troye Sivan to show the difference between their fan bases and how they’ve changed and/or evolved
First Connor Franta, I admittedly was fan of him back in the day, like many were. A few days ago I checked his yt and his videos seemed to decrease greatly in views, meaning his fan base has diminished...why is that? Personally, and I think this applies to many,
I stopped being a fan of his when he locked down into his interest in photography. To me, someone who has 0 interest in the topic, it seemed boring. His videos became more about photography and I gradually became more uninterested in him bc that is his identity on the Internet
therefore, what he makes and produces is what I will associate with him as a person, even though that is not necessarily true. Though, through his interest he is able to build up a fanbase which has the same interests in photography as he does. I’m glad he has found what he loves
Next, Tyler Oakley. Im honestly not sure what he is doing at the moment but I’m assuming many of us fell out of his fanbase when he made a show(?)It seemed we had lost the authenticity of him being a YouTuber. As well as the fact his content may have not changed with the audience
As his fans were growing with age, his content felt the same, theres nothing wrong with that bc it looked like he enjoyed what he was creating. However this will naturally affect the fanbase he built, therefore there would be a disconnect btwn him and the fanbase
Which links to what I said before about recirprocation through content. The content may no longer feel like it was meant for you, maybe a younger or older audience, an audience that you just don’t connect with anymore as you grow into yourself etc. (btw I hope he’s doing well)
The last example I have is troye sivan. I’ve been a fan of his for around 5-6 years now and his fanbase has only grown since his YouTube days. However this does not mean he has the same fanbase as before
Some fans from when he was a youtuber may have only been interested in the content from his videos, they have most likely stopped being a fan of his. However fans like myself that enjoyed both his videos and his music are currently fuelled by his music as his yt is pretty much
Nonexistent at this stage. To people who were a fan of his yt, it may feel like they lost a part of him by not getting the content they wanted. However what mostly works in Troye’s favour is that music itself is popular. His fanbase understandably amounted through his music.
Music is a universal language, a language for all ages, races, living conditions etc. where his yt was targeted toward teenagers who spoke English. His music has helped him to branch out among his YouTube fanbase which naturally attracts more fans as it reaches more people
Now if he were to revert to only YouTube, naturally his fanbase will slowly diminish as the target audience will change from being everyone, to a smaller and targeted portion of people, even if its not intentional.
So basically, in conclusion. Unstanning shouldn’t even be a debatable topic. When looking deeper into it, a connection that was once there with producer and consumer is gone as both parties grow and change with time.
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