Perspective on the socio-cultural psychology of "fans".

In recent years, the "fan" culture has grown savagely, which has had a huge impact on mainstream culture. "Fan" culture is a kind of subculture, compared with the mainstream culture, because of the broad mass base, the subculture gathers abundant nourishment from the people, often can bloom in all directions, and gain public attention in a large area. 　

"Fans" are a kind of "rabble" in the cultural sense 　　

"Fans" gather around their favorite "stars" like moths chasing the lights. "Powder" and "star" interact benignly, each takes what they need, and forms an atmosphere of stars holding the moon. The "fans" gather around the "stars", forming a group of "rabble" that has eliminated rationality and individuality to a certain extent. Once this group is formed, for the individuals in it, its clear rationality may be short-circuited, and the individual will not become an individual, and the meaning of its existence is for the "fan" group. As Gustave · Le Pen said: a "rabble" gathered in groups will form a "psychological group". 　

A "mental group" is a temporary phenomenon made up of heterogeneous components that, when combined, are like forming a living entity by combining into a new being. Whoever belongs to this group, whether their lifestyle, occupation, personality or intelligence is the same or different, once they form such a group, acquires a "collective mentality" which makes their feelings, thoughts and behaviours quite different from those of their individual individuals. Yang Lijuan's crazy pursuit of Andy Lau is an extreme example. 　　

The mediated survival of "fans" has become a prominent landscape of "fan" culture 　　

The mediated survival of "fans" has become a prominent landscape of the current "fans" culture. In many cases, "fans" do not have the opportunity to have close contact with the "idols" in their minds, and their perception of "idols" depends more on media channels, but the media's reports on "stars" are often selective, and the media will not completely reproduce the "idols", that is, the image of "idols" is constructed by the media; On the other hand, "idols" always like to show their sunny and dazzling images to the media, so that the media presentation of "idols" is always so radiant. In fact, "idols" outside the media are not as charismatic as the media presents. In fact, the "fans" are deceived by the image of "idols" created by the media, and the media and the "idols" have teamed up to set a beautiful trap to lure the "fans" into the trap they have laid. In addition, the beautiful image of "idols" is also a product of the psychological effect of "fans", and the empathic effect of the unrequited love of "fans" will weave a perfect phantom in their minds. This highly subjective phantom attaches itself to the "idol", forming a beautiful aura, obscuring the real defects of the "idol" and elevating the image of the idol. In fact, the charm of "idols" is formed in the collusion of "idols", the media, and "fans", and this collusion also satisfies the needs of each of the three, and it doesn't matter what the real situation is. 　　

The boom of new media has created a godsend for the gathering of "fans" in the virtual space. In the virtual world created by the new media, "fans" can meet their favorite "idols" without much effort, and most "fans" do not have the opportunity to communicate with "idols" face-to-face, but the virtual space creates a "mimicry environment" for them to meet, through which "fans" seem to be able to produce an immersive feeling, thinking that they are really with the "idols" they have been dreaming of. In addition, the virtual space with boundless boundaries provides great convenience for the massive emergence of "fans" (blogs, microblogs), and even provides a vast soil for the viral expansion of "fans". With the help of blogs, Weibo, and WeChat, "fans" from all over the world can gather under the command of "idols" to form an exclusive circle of fans. The virtual space is divided by circles, forming a dotted online "Spring and Autumn Kingdoms". 　　

The herd mentality of "fans" creates a "herd effect" 　　

In today's China, "fan reading" has become a fashion. "Fans" read books, not based on their own judgment, but to see what books are being read by the people around them and what books are published by the idol authors in their hearts. Around the star authors, a wave of "fan" audiences has been formed. The herd mentality of "fans" creates a "herd effect" of reading. We often see a scene where a best-selling author is bursting with "fans" when he signs and sells a book. From a market point of view, this kind of on-site direct sales method is really effective, using the "live broadcast" of famous artists, you can bring "fans" and idols together at zero distance. 　　

"Fan reading" is a narrow reading.

In the hearts of "fans", it is impossible to be inclusive and diverse. At a certain moment, he will only focus on the idol in his heart and dedicate all kinds of love to him. Some people say that readers with such strong preferences are lovely and valuable, but reading is not an emotional party, let alone a spiritual marriage. Reading has an emotional follow-up, but when it is based on reason. It is common to see that "fans" "stand in line" on the Internet, fighting war of words in order to defend their idols in their hearts, and many quarrels are not based on reason, but a battle of will, staged "labeling", "splashing dirty water", "dating" and other bridges, making it very lively. 　　"Fan reading" has stimulated the prosperity of the market, created a large number of demand, and also brought rich market returns. However, "fan reading" has created a false consumption boom, which is lively on the surface, but in fact it is very empty on the inside. If it evolves into a spectacular trend, it is not a healthy cultural sign. 　　

Topic links

Social group characteristics of "fans". 　　

From a sociological point of view, "fans" are a special kind of social group, which has the general characteristics of a social group: 1. There is a clear membership relationship. 2. Have constant interaction with each other. 3. Have a consistent sense of group and norms. 4. There is a certain division of labor and cooperation. 5. Ability to act in unison. This social group is "fixed, regular, emotionally invested in a popular story or text." The text can come in the form of books, TV series, movies or music, or sports or pop symbols". Broadly speaking, "fans" refer to a subset of people who have a greater interest in a particular topic; In a narrow sense, "fans" not only have a strong interest in these topics, but also have a deeper understanding of them.

Text/Zhang Taofu