It is far past time for online superfans to put down their smartphones and just enjoy the music.

Over the past several years, stan culture has been endlessly dissected across countless publications, often arriving at similar conclusions that lament its problematic nature and toxicity. A “stan” refers to an especially enthusiastic – or even obsessive – superfan of a musical artist who spends considerable time engaging with other superfans online, usually on social media platforms such as X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.

Originally, the term dates back to Eminem’s 2000 single “Stan,” a song where the rapper criticized his most crazed fans and the bizarre parasocial relationships they formed with him. Today, pervasive stan culture continues to be just as damaging and vitriolic and must change before a new generation of talented stars and passionate fans are harmed by its dangerous groupthink effects.

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Some of the Internet’s stan culture fandoms are fairly recognizable, such as the BTS ARMY, the Rihanna Navy, Taylor Swift’s Swifties, Beyoncé’s BeyHive and Nicki Minaj’s Barbz. Although it may be erroneously perceived that stan culture is a more recent cultural phenomenon, overzealous fan obsession has existed for decades, as far back as the 1950s and 1960s.

Arguably the greatest issue with stan culture is the troubling effect it can have on the mental health of artists and fans. In a cacophonous echo chamber where logic and reason are easily muffled, alarming groupthink behavior can target any individual who might threaten the perceived perfection of the revered artist.

For instance, earlier this year, stan culture’s venom was sprayed across the internet after a rap feud between Megan Thee Stallion and Minaj. Megan Thee Stallion’s song, “HISS,” was interpreted to criticize several rappers, leading Minaj to release the response diss track, “Big Foot.” Some stans accused Megan Thee Stallion of lying about enduring a gunshot wound to her foot by Tory Lanez in 2020, and others even made efforts to desecrate the gravestone of the Houston rapper’s deceased mother. This malevolence proves that stans should never become crusaders on behalf of their favorite artists or translate their defensiveness into abusive written or physical violence that has devastating power to hurt others.

Another concerning aspect of stan culture is the disturbing overconsumption of mediocre musical products. As a consequence of stans’ blind support of their favorite artists’ output, many loyally purchase multiple versions of albums or singles to help inflate their idol’s chart positions – regardless of the quality of the music. Of course, creating the best album possible is seldom the primary goal for pop superstars who have active fanbases, especially when record label bottom lines are at play. That said, a dysfunctional system that disregards quality removes important incentives for artists to hone their craft and lets record labels off the hook for failing to invest in more ambitious projects.

For example, Swift’s latest album “THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT” was met with middling reviews and is generally agreed among music critics to be one of her weakest LPs. For many, the album’s banal production was derivative of 2022’s Grammy-winning “Midnights.” Despite this tepid reception from industry professionals, the album has been a commercial powerhouse, topping the Billboard 200 for 15 of the last 17 weeks. Without stan culture and Swifties’ relentless backing – with hundreds of thousands of nearly identical variant copies being sold to repeat buyers – the album might not have had the same degree of chart dominance.

These cases from industry veterans illustrate the uncomfortable predicament rising artists are facing, as new stars, such as Chappell Roan, are entering a landscape where a fanbase of stans can indicate the difference between sustainable pop success and one-hit wonder irrelevance.

Ultimately, the previously mentioned benefits of having an active legion of stans – higher sales, more streams and a greater social media presence – inevitably come at a steep cost. Chappell Roan has been vocal about her concerns with her emerging following and how unsettled she has felt in the wake of some stans locating where her relatives live and work. In Chappell Roan’s case and others, it is egregiously unethical for artists to have to worry for the safety of their loved ones because stans cannot be trusted to keep their obsessions at a respectful level.

For consumers, it appears that stan culture can promote fans to favor quantity over quality. Instead of blissfully immersing themselves in the joy of listening to their beloved artist’s tunes, online stans are constantly clamoring for more. For instance, Swift has released nine albums in the last five years – amounting to more than 200 songs – but Swifties continue to impatiently theorize about when the unreleased “Reputation (Taylor’s Version)” will be unveiled. Likewise, Rihanna’s Navy waits in vain for the pop star’s rumored ninth album. Rather than appreciating the iconic music these fandoms already have, stan culture sets unrealistic expectations for artists to become assembly lines for new music.

Despite such fundamental flaws with online stan culture for both artists and consumers, there are some benefits to be drawn from these obsessive fan practices. Some ardent superfans argue that their fandoms provide community in a digitally oriented world. Likewise, some K-pop stan groups have mobilized online political activism, taking over trending far-right hashtags in attempts to drown out bigoted or racist messages on social media. While such political movements and participation in a community with equally passionate fans can be rewarding, stan culture’s few benefits are undeniably outweighed by its downfalls.

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Moving forward, it may be difficult to imagine a world where stan culture is not as prevalent. Stan culture’s chokehold on contemporary music consumption seems inextricable, but it is only a matter of time until online music fandoms are forced to reinvent and cultivate a healthier environment for fans and artists. Stans must remember that although loving an artist is a normal part of the human experience, such ardor must be exercised with a serious degree of moderation.

Artists owe their stans by delivering high-quality music, but only on a timeline that suits themselves. Otherwise, stans need to have the courtesy and compassion to respect artists’ privacy, safety, mental health and natural limitations. For some stans, stepping away from social media to reconnect with the music they treasure might be an ideal place to start.

In an online ecosystem with more direct interaction than ever, rewriting the code for stan fandoms would be beneficial to not only artists and fans but also the music both parties love.