Looking into society’s fan syndrome and redirecting the emotions and efforts towards oneself.
Some phenomenon, although commonly widespread, do not grab our attention unless we pause and look at them closely. I have been following Khaled Mohamed (known as @djkhaled) on social media for a while, mainly because I find his son Asahd adorable. I would skip his snaps only to watch the ones that have his son on them. But recently, what grabbed my attention was the way DJ Khaled addressed his fans as ’Fan Luv’. His fans constantly appeared on his snapchat screaming his name or his son’s. Some of them even ran after him, crying in joy, screaming “We love you Asahd”.
This fandom phenomenon is nothing new. It has existed and transcended through generations. Remember the hysterical fan stereotype and fainting females who followed Elvis Presley? Consider also, modern day ‘Beliebers’, where the galloping of technology, specifically social media, has made it easier for fans to revere their idols. I, myself remember how back in the 90’s, I was more than just an ardent admirer of Zack from Saved By The Bell. Embarrassingly, I was a die-hard fan of his.
Now, why DJ Khaled’s shoutout of “Fan Luv” triggered my observations is beyond me. Nonetheless, it made me think deeply of the many fandom accounts on Instagram for fashionistas, jokers, influencers, etc. Somehow it feels like in this day and age, every Tom, Dick, and Harry have a fan club. Take your pick from this passing trend. Anybody with no special talent or substance can become the object of adulation for millions.
However, regardless of the idols themselves or whether fandoms are psychologically healthy or not, I thought of the fans, the individuals who became too consumed with the minute details of the lives of their idols. I doubt they are aware that the word fan stems from fanatic. I am in no way criticizing fans and fandoms. On the contrary, everyone is entitled to choose who they want to align themselves with. But those fans do not realize how much effort & emotion they are vicariously engaging in their idols. What if all this effort & emotion was invested in themselves? What if they admired certain qualities in their idols but admired themselves even more?
We look so much at others in admiration that we tend to forget to admire the most important person; the one we see in our mirrors every day. This is the person who deserves all the effort and emotions. Just think of how positively this will impact your confidence and self-love.
DJ Khaled’s fan luv shoutouts raised my awareness about one thought only: What if we redirected some that Fan-Luv to Self-Luv? Think about it: what if you were your biggest fan?
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