Why is it that whenever a celebrity does something, no matter how common it is, everyone seems to know about it? The fixation on celebrity life is increasing by the minute as many teenagers “fangirl” over celebrities because of their physical attributes, their actions, or just because they are famous.
Ms. Baldoni, an Honors English 9 and Contemporary Literature teacher defines the term perfectly: “Being a “fangirl” means you’re dedicated and willing to support your favorite characters.”
For instance, many young teenage girls idolize the famous British band, One Direction, by calling themselves “Directioners.” Sometimes this type of fangirling is beneficial; it helps create loyalty and dedication towards a certain person, character, or thing.
But problems can arise when teenage girls are not able to outgrow this phase. This is where they develop what I call “fangirl syndrome”.
One can see why many teenage girls are caught by the “fangirl syndrome.” Celebrities create the illusion of having the perfect life, the killer looks, the money, and they seem as though they are living the life everyone has always wanted to live. Because of this illusion, girls become jealous up to a point where they lose themselves entirely and adapt their life to fit a celebrity’s. But the cold, hard truth is that most of the time, these celebrities do not even know these fans exist.
Sure, they receive fan mails and hear the roaring crowds every time they perform, but do they really take the time to read every single fangirl’s letter? The answer to that is simple: no.
However, many fans refuse to acknowledge this, and thus continue to believe in the nonsensical idea that their dream celebrity will notice them. So instead of discarding precious seconds of their lives on celebrities, students should do something more productive with their lives. For instance, focus on schoolwork, join a new club, or try out something new.
As Yunhee Kang ’15 states, “I think that students, especially Ridge students, have better things to do with their lives than stalk people on the internet.” By doing so, students will be able to get over their fixation quicker than others.
There haven’t been any cures for the fangirl syndrome as of now. All we can do is wait until the syndrome slowly fades away. But one can’t be blamed for catching the syndrome. It’s just a phase of being a teenager. So have fun being a fangirl; just make sure you don’t let it go too far.