Swift, in fact, isn’t the one modern-day pop star with a hyper-dedicated fanbase. However the parasocial relationship she’s cultivated together with her followers feels distinctly completely different than the one somebody like Beyoncé, a star of comparable wattage, has impressed among the many Beyhive.
“Folks like Beyoncé make a reputation for themselves by seeming nearly out of attain. They encourage one thing nearer to worship than friendship,” mentioned Shira Gabriel, an affiliate professor of psychology on the College at Buffalo who research parasocial bonds.
“Whereas Swift reveals herself as an everyday individual,” she mentioned. “This makes individuals really feel nearer to her than they’d to somebody who purposely separates themselves from others.”
Jessi Gold is a psychiatrist and assistant professor on the Washington College College of Drugs in St. Louis. She’s additionally a Swiftie: “I’ve seen each tour since she opened for Keith City in 2009 once I was in school.”
Whereas each pop star says, “I really like my followers!” Gold believes Swift actually means it; she appears to have a real closeness to them.
“The closeness shouldn’t be on the similar degree because the closeness she has together with her mates, clearly, however she has at all times made an effort to answer movies, ship items or cash to followers she finds on-line who want it, or do particular issues for her followers, like invite them to her home for a screening of an album,” she mentioned.
All of that “validates her facet of the connection with them greater than a typical fan/superstar scenario” would, Gold mentioned.
“She’s additionally cultivated that for a lot of followers since they had been children,” she added. “Folks grew up together with her in parallel, even when not likely intersecting in actual life fairly often.”
