Chapter 1: Introduction (draft)

Chapter 1

Introduction

A.   Background of the study

Fan girling is fun and interesting. In modern generation, fan girling became well accepted. Fan girling brings off a positive vibe on fans and they tend to see things on the positive side. As a result, optimism is ruling these people. A lot of fan girls are seen to be having fun on watching and seeing their fandoms. There is a certain fan girl domain that has been growing in our society today; it is what we know as K-pop fandom. This fandom has been growing larger and larger as time goes by. The said fandom focuses more on K-pop idols and stars.

According to an article entitled, “KPOP and the Future of Korea” by Mimsie Ladner of huffingtonpost.com, KPOP has been very influential not only in Korea but also around the world. In America, the KPOP Fandom has been very popular because of its unique characteristics. But despite its popularity and fandom, there are bashers. But still, the fandom grew larger and larger.

Mimsie Ladner also said, “It's easy to ignore the fact that there's a bigger picture to K-pop when silly costumes and screaming fangirls are involved. So, the next time you're in Seoul and hear the familiar sound of sugary K-pop sounding from every which direction, don't roll your eyes. Appreciate it for what it is and keep in mind that that very song might just be influencing the future of Korea.” (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mimsie-ladner/kpop-korea-music_b_3784115.html).

People, especially girls, know that fan girling is a common shared interest that brings them together. Some fandoms have some groups already wherein they all see their idols as an epitome of something beyond any other else in this world. Fan girling soon became a bridge in building friendship especially to girls because they tend to click due to their common interest. This common interest will soon make bonds that will bloom into something bigger that will make their friendship unbreakable.

According to a forum named “redditkpop” of reddit.com where fans of KPOP gather there are almost 10,000 KPOP fan in a certain country or region that shares the same interest. This forum is made to gather all KPOP fans (especially in America) and share their biases. (http://www.reddit.com/r/kpop/comments/1z20di/general_discussion_how_many_kpop_nonsouth_korean/).

According to fan girls, dedicating their life on reading fan fictions, looking at the pictures of their idols, watching K-dramas, shipping idols, and etc., is cute and simple. These things bring life to them. Just like any other fans, fan girls of k-pop domain will always give time to the things they enjoy. Looking at their idols feels like they enter a part of their idols life and that somehow makes them complete. Doing these simple things makes their heart somehow satisfied.

According to an article entitled “Being a Fan Girl..” by TP BUS Bloggers of tpbusinessbuzz.com being a kpop fan is expensive. You will buy albums, DVDs, posters, concert tickets and any other fandom related. Once you started , you can never get out because what you are being obsessed with is giving you life already. But this expensive spending makes you more practical and you learn how to budget your money.

The author said (In personal opinion) “I spend $$$ on their concert tickets. As you know, concert tickets don’t come cheap, especially in Singapore where the minimum price (for KPOP concerts) would be at least $150 for the more established idols. Not to forget, if you want a better view, those seats can cost up to $300 per ticket” (http://tpbusinessbuzz.com/2014/03/being-a-fan-girl/).

Somehow, fan girling raises awareness, giving support and provides motivation for their idols.  The idols they idolized are being energized to do their job and give more effort because they know that there are fans waiting for their works. Fan girls play a big part of their job and even their personal life.

Despite of this positive things fan girling gives, people don’t know that it has a bad side-effect. 

There are some views for fan girls that the enjoyment fan girling gives is rather irreplaceable. But, healthy fan girling must be raised. Hence, having background information about being a fan girl will help people, mostly girls, to overstep the line between healthy fandom and obsession and in case of healthy fan girls, why they should prevent on having further obsession.

Instead of dealing with different kinds of fandoms around the world, the goal of this paper is to explain the side effects of extreme fan girling.

B.   Statement of the problem

This study aims to answer the question:

1.    What are the effects of extreme fan girling?

C.   Significance of the Study

1. Fan girls and newbies of the fandom world. This research paper would be able to help fan girls to minimize their obsession and how they can prevent the bad effects of it. For the new people of the fandom domain, this study will help you to do healthy fan girling. Moreover, the researcher hopes that healthy fan girling will be raised for positive contribution in the said domain. 
2. Idols and aspiring idols. In this paper, idols will know what obsessive fan girls tend to do. In that case, they will be ready and prepared for the negative circumstances and how to deal with obsessive fans they have. Aspiring idols would also benefit in this paper because they can prepare themselves on the world of fandom that’s waiting for them. 
3. Future researchers. This study is risky because people think that the researcher might be stereotyping since the paper will be focusing on the bad effects. But there will be thorough research on what fan girls really do. Future researchers will benefit in this paper in terms of psychological terms and mental behaviors fan girls do.

D.   Scope and Limitations

This study aims to explain the side effects of extreme Fangirling. K-pop fan girling will be considered since it became viral in our current generation.

This study will no longer discuss about different fandoms such as British and American since it has been widely accepted and positively practiced as time went by. This paper will also give emphasis to K-pop fan girling because K-pop fans tend to be more aggressive than any other fandom. Moreover, the researcher believes that Korean fan girling gives off a lot of psychological side-effects on people compared to others.

E.   Materials and Methods

This study will be using internet-based researches and blogs since a lot of fan girls have been doing blogs regarding their fan girl life. Those blogs will be useful in a way that this paper will be needing evidences of healthy and unhealthy fan-girling. Moreover, researches about the psychological effect of fan girling will be needed and some of this researched will be seen in the internet.

The date and information needed for this paper will be analyzed according to its importance and use for the study. Information not related to the psychological effect of fan girling will be disposed in order to prevent clattered idea and come out with a concise answer for the study. The weight of the sources is a must and some personal-based researches and opinions will not be included.

 F.    Definition and Terms

1. Fan girl. A female who has overstepped the line between healthy fandom and near obsession for a certain group or celebrity.
2. Fan girling. The act of idolizing over someone who people see to be talented than others. 
3. Fandom. A term used to refer to a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of sympathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. 
4.  K-pop. Also known as Korean pop, is a popular sub culture in Korea consisting of talented individuals carefully trained for entertainment.
5. Shipping. Also known as OTP (One true pairing), is a term used to express a pair of people that are perfect partner for each other regardless of their gender.