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DATE: July 19, 2026 at 10:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and liberals are more likely to be celebrity “stans”
URL: https://www.psypost.org/women-lgbtq-individuals-and-liberals-are-more-likely-to-be-celebrity-stans/
New research published in the journal Psychology of Popular Media provides evidence that people who strongly identify as ultrafans of celebrities tend to be female, LGBTQ+, and politically liberal. These highly dedicated fans use social media platforms to build communities, share information, and promote the public figures they love. The findings offer new insights into how young adults navigate internet spaces to form identities and find social connection.
The term “stan” originated as slang, combining the words stalker and fan. Today, it has evolved into a widely accepted label for someone who is an intensely enthusiastic and dedicated supporter of a specific celebrity, musician, or public figure. People who stan a celebrity often invest a massive amount of time, energy, and emotion into their fandom.
For these individuals, being a stan is often a core part of their personal identity. They are known for their sophisticated use of social media to organize events, create digital art, and even fundraise for social justice movements. Stans of pop stars like Taylor Swift or South Korean pop music groups like BTS are famous for their immense online presence and cultural influence.
Tara Marshall, an associate professor of social psychology and health, aging and society at McMaster University, noted that the idea for the project came directly from her team. “I don’t consider myself to be a stan of anyone or anything except the TV show Survivor,” Marshall said. “My co-authors of this article, Vania Wu and Zoya Pal, were both self-described stans of K-pop stars and we thought it would be fun to explore the identities, values, and motives of stans in our research.”
Marshall noted that personal experience provided a starting point for their academic inquiry. “So, I guess we confirmed the old adage that ‘research is me-search’,” she added. To explore this topic, the scientists relied on a concept called uses and gratifications theory, which suggests that people actively seek out specific types of media because it fulfills certain psychological needs.
The authors noted that online fan groups often operate like digital tribes. They act as organized communities where individuals work toward common goals, share specialized knowledge, and form intense interpersonal relationships. This collective action can be incredibly powerful, sometimes influencing the decisions of major entertainment companies.
For instance, people might use internet platforms to satisfy a desire for social interaction, to express their personal identity, or to engage in activism. The researchers suspected that online stan communities might serve exactly these purposes. They predicted that people from marginalized backgrounds might be particularly drawn to these groups.
Online spaces can offer a safe environment for LGBTQ+ individuals to express their true selves and find a sense of belonging. The authors also expected that women would be more likely to stan, given that many massive online fandoms tend to be female-dominated. They anticipated that stans would lean liberal in their political views, since these fan communities often organize around progressive social causes.
The researchers also explored the role of mental health literacy. This refers to a person’s knowledge about mental health symptoms and their willingness to seek psychological treatment. Because many modern celebrities openly discuss their personal struggles, the authors suspected that fans might learn from these disclosures and develop more supportive, informed attitudes.
To test these predictions, the scientists designed two separate studies. In the first study, the researchers focused specifically on Twitter, a platform historically known as a major hub for fan communities. The sample included 407 participants with an average age of about 19 years old.
Most of these participants were university students in Canada who completed the survey in exchange for course credit. A small portion of the participants were recruited directly through a post on Twitter. The researchers required all participants to be at least 18 years old and active on the platform, meaning they logged in at least every few days.
The survey asked participants if they identified as members of stan Twitter, which the questionnaire defined as a community of users who engage with each other and post content related to the pop culture figures they admire. Participants also completed several psychological assessments. One of these was a mental health literacy scale, which measures a person’s knowledge about mental health disorders, where to seek help, and their level of stigmatization toward mental illness.
The participants were asked how many hours a day and days a week they used their accounts. They were also asked to detail the specific roles they took on within their fan communities, such as creating digital art or helping a specific topic trend globally. Another questionnaire measured political and social beliefs, asking participants to rate their feelings toward various traditional and progressive issues.
The researchers also measured the participants’ need for social connection on Twitter. This involved asking how much they felt they fit in or made connections with others on the site. The results of the first study showed that a substantial 35 percent of the participants identified as members of stan Twitter.
“I was surprised by the sheer prevalence of self-identified stans,” Marshall told PsyPost. “This is hardly a fringe group of young people, but rather a sizable minority.” These individuals most frequently reported stanning musicians, particularly K-pop artists. The data revealed that stans were significantly more likely to be female and LGBTQ+ compared to non-stans.
The data showed that stans spent significant time online, averaging almost two hours a day on their dedicated fan accounts. Their primary motivation for joining these spaces was to stay updated on their favorite celebrities without feeling judged by others. They also wanted to share information and make friends with like-minded individuals.
“There is considerable inter-stan variability, with some stans more involved in their social media communities than others,” Marshall explained. “For example, we found that K-pop stans used social media more for stanning than did non-K-pop stans, but they didn’t necessarily stan their celebrity any harder.” Stans also scored higher on mental health literacy and reported a stronger sense of social connection specifically related to their Twitter use.
When the researchers ran a statistical model to see which factors were the strongest predictors, female identity, LGBTQ+ identity, and Twitter-specific social connection stood out the most. For their second study, the researchers expanded their focus beyond just Twitter. They wanted to capture behavior across a wider variety of social media platforms, such as Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Snapchat.
This second sample consisted of 472 participants with an average age of about 18 and a half years old. Similar to the first study, these participants were primarily undergraduate students at a Canadian university. The survey once again asked if they identified as a member of a stan community, but this time it did not limit the question to Twitter.
The scientists also asked participants to indicate which specific social media platforms they used for their fan activities. To measure political views, the participants rated their political ideology on a scale ranging from far left to far right. The researchers also used a global social connectedness scale.
Unlike the first study, which only asked about connection on Twitter, this scale measured a person’s general feelings of belonging and connection in their everyday life. In this second study, 21 percent of the participants identified as stans. The platforms they used most frequently for fan activities were Instagram and TikTok.
Similar to the first study, these fans primarily focused their attention on musicians. Interestingly, the use of Twitter for fan activities was much lower in this second group. The authors suggest this might be because Twitter is often associated with more toxic online behaviors, such as cyberbullying, which might push some users toward more visually focused platforms.
The findings again supported the idea that stans are more likely to be female, LGBTQ+, and politically liberal. However, the researchers found no difference between stans and non-stans regarding their general sense of social connection. It appears that while stans feel connected within their specific online networks, they do not necessarily feel more or less connected in their broader offline lives.
“Sometimes stans are negatively portrayed in the media, but our research suggested that they are a pretty joyful bunch,” Marshall noted. “Connecting with other stans through social media may not only provide people with fun and escapism, but also give people a sense of belonging, positive identity, social purpose, and emotional support. The benefits of stanning may be particularly pronounced for people from marginalized communities.”
When the authors analyzed all the variables together, they found that LGBTQ+ identity and liberal political views were the most robust predictors of being a stan across all platforms. Female identity was a slightly weaker predictor in this second study. The researchers suggest this might be because non-female participants used visual platforms like Instagram and TikTok for fan activities just as much as female participants did.
It is easy to misinterpret these findings as proof that joining an online fan community causes a person to become more liberal or changes their sexual identity. The current research only captures a snapshot in time. It is entirely possible that people who already hold liberal views are simply more drawn to spaces that promote social activism.
Another limitation is the specific demographic makeup of the participants. The sample relied heavily on young university students in Canada. Canadian students tend to hold more socially progressive views than populations in more politically divided or conservative countries.
Fans living in other parts of the world might hesitate to openly identify with progressive politics or marginalized groups. They might fear negative attention or harassment from others. Cultural differences could also play a large role in how people engage with celebrities online.
For example, people from individualistic cultures often value direct communication and might engage more openly in internet arguments or fan wars. In contrast, fans from collectivistic cultures might join these communities more for gathering information rather than for political activism or public debates. Future research should attempt to survey older adults and individuals from a wider variety of countries.
Scientists could also track participants over a longer period of time to see how habits evolve. “I’d like to conduct longitudinal research on stans to learn more about who is attracted to stan communities and how their values, motives, and behavior might be influenced by stan involvement,” Marshall explained.
“I’d also like to explore the role of stanning within romantic relationships: what are the relationship outcomes for stans partnered with stans versus stans partnered with non-stans?” she added. “I’d like to further explore differences between standoms, as well as differences between stans and people who identify more as fans than stans.”
The study, “Who Stans Celebrities on Social Media? The Role of Gender, Sexual Orientation, and Political Ideology,” was authored by Tara C. Marshall, Vania Wu, and Zoya Pal.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/women-lgbtq-individuals-and-liberals-are-more-likely-to-be-celebrity-stans/
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #stanTwitter #stanCulture #CelebrityStan #LGBTQFandom #FemaleFans #Liberals #SocialMediaFandom #MentalHealthLiteracy #KpopStans #DigitalTribes
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Organizations rarely fail at digital transformation because of technology. They fail because of how leadership thinks about technology. #DigitalTransformation #CIO #Leadership #BusinessStrategy #TechnologyLeadership
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Organizations rarely fail at digital transformation because of technology. They fail because of how leadership thinks about technology. #DigitalTransformation #CIO #Leadership #BusinessStrategy #TechnologyLeadership
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Organizations rarely fail at digital transformation because of technology. They fail because of how leadership thinks about technology. #DigitalTransformation #CIO #Leadership #BusinessStrategy #TechnologyLeadership
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Digital Thermal Systems: How Smarter Temperature Management Is Reshaping Modern Industries
https://www.cashlesstime.com/2026/07/digital-thermal-systems-how-smarter.html?m=1#DigitalThermalSystems #IndustrialAutomation #TemperatureMonitoring #EnergyEfficiency #PredictiveMaintenance #SmartManufacturing #Industry40 #IoT #DigitalTransformation #IndustrialTechnology #DataCenters #RenewableEnergy #HealthcareTechnology #Automation #Engineering
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Digital Thermal Systems: How Smarter Temperature Management Is Reshaping Modern Industries
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Digital Thermal Systems: How Smarter Temperature Management Is Reshaping Modern Industries
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Digital transformation is rarely a technology problem. In healthcare, success depends just as much on people, processes and change management as it does on new systems. In this opinion piece, Mizaic CEO Jon Pickering argues that organisations must invest in adoption and culture if they want digital transformation to deliver lasting results.
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Digital transformation is rarely a technology problem. In healthcare, success depends just as much on people, processes and change management as it does on new systems. In this opinion piece, Mizaic CEO Jon Pickering argues that organisations must invest in adoption and culture if they want digital transformation to deliver lasting results.
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Digital tourism in Luoyang, China
Immersive spaces where groups of people share the same digital experience without the need for any physical interface.👉 Discover MUCH MORE and SUBSCRIBE to our summary of news and updates through link:
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Digital tourism in Luoyang, China
Immersive spaces where groups of people share the same digital experience without the need for any physical interface.👉 Discover MUCH MORE and SUBSCRIBE to our summary of news and updates through link:
📱 #digitaltourism #luoyang #china #technology #travel #future #tourism #leisure #chine #technologie #futur #tourisme #loisirs #turismodigital #tecnología #futuro #turismo #ocio
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Digital tourism in Luoyang, China
Immersive spaces where groups of people share the same digital experience without the need for any physical interface.👉 Discover MUCH MORE and SUBSCRIBE to our summary of news and updates through link:
📱 #digitaltourism #luoyang #china #technology #travel #future #tourism #leisure #chine #technologie #futur #tourisme #loisirs #turismodigital #tecnología #futuro #turismo #ocio
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Digital tourism in Luoyang, China
Immersive spaces where groups of people share the same digital experience without the need for any physical interface.👉 Discover MUCH MORE and SUBSCRIBE to our summary of news and updates through link:
📱 #digitaltourism #luoyang #china #technology #travel #future #tourism #leisure #chine #technologie #futur #tourisme #loisirs #turismodigital #tecnología #futuro #turismo #ocio
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[LinkedIn]
"Gaussian Splatting Community" "Aurélien Camart" -
[LinkedIn]
"Gaussian Splatting Community" "Aurélien Camart" -
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A Digital Twin-Lens Reflex Camera is Long Past Due https://petapixel.com/2026/07/05/a-digital-twin-lens-reflex-camera-is-long-past-due/ #digitaltwinlensreflex #mediumformatcamera #streetphotography #travelphotography #yashicamat124g #rolleicord #rolleiflex #Editorial #Features #Opinion
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Two new papers just published (and which were presented last week at the ESCAPE36 conference in Sheffield).
https://doi.org/10.69997/sct.121590
https://doi.org/10.69997/sct.164877
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