Celebrity worship is defined as an obsessive fascination with one or more celebrities. It has existed since the first ever plays. television shows, films, and musical compositions. Hollywood's impact spread far beyond the American borders; in her diary, Anne Frank, a Dutch girl living in Germany, loved American movie stars as well as German ones.

"I still spend many Sundays arranging and sorting my large movie-star collection, which has taken on extremely respectable dimensions. Mr. Kugler does me a great favor when he brings me a copy of Cinema & Theater each Monday." - Anne Frank, January 27th, 1944

Celebrities continued to flourish as the 20th century progressed. On February 7th, 1964, the Beatles landed at the John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City and were greeted with thousands of excited fans, screaming their names and trying to touch them. This type of adoration for different bands, actors, and other celebrities only grew; everywhere you looked, you saw celebrities in commercials and on the front page of magazines. Interviews and exposés on celebrities' lives and alleged "drama" were rampant, in tabloids and celeb-focused talk shows. This still rings true today, though in the early 2000s a new avenue opened up for celebrities themselves to share their thoughts and opinions: social media.

The rise of social media gave both casual fans and super fans alike a new place to congregate; sharing pictures, videos, and praise for their favorite celebrities became so much easier. Finding people all over the world who liked the same band as you was almost unheard up before sites like Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter came to be. Now, you can connect with complete strangers to chat about Emma Stone's latest movie or Ariana Grande's newest album. Over the years, these fans formed communities and sub-communities online called fandoms, and dubbed themselves "stans."

This project aims to explore the culture of how stans interact with each other, and with celebrities, on social media. There are four sections to this project; Defining the Demographic, Fan Behaviors, Celebrity Efforts and Input, and The Impact on Mental Health. There is also a mini dictionary that will help you understand the terms used throughout this website.

Click the tiles below to explore each section. I hope this gives you more insight as to what celebrity worship on social media looks like and what it can result in!

— Cruz Walden