K-Pop Stan Twitter

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See also: Stan, Twitter, K-Pop
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K-pop Stan Twitter is a neutral-to-derogatory term for a particular subsection of K-pop fandom on Twitter that frequently uses contextless fancams to respond to both trending topics on Twitter and controversial or otherwise terrible opinions of popular twitter users. They stan one or more K-pop idols (sometimes known as their bias) and use the associated language of stan culture to communicate with other fans. As an in-group term, "stan twitter" is neutral but to an outsider (called "locals" by stan twitter) the term is often said in a derogatory or negative light.

Stan twitter is so prolific and enthusiastic that mainstream media has started to take notice, with the Chips Ahoy (yes, the cookie) Twitter being converted from a brand Twitter into a K-pop stan account[1] which led to a brush with anti Twitter when they said they they would be unfollowing any K-pop antis they saw.[2] PewDiePie also attempted to leverage the power of BTS stans to gain followers during the PewDiePie vs T-series feud. Other celebrities have also had run-ins with K-pop stan twitter that ended poorly.[3] It has also led to several Social Media AUs where characters are fans of K-pop groups (usually BTS) such as the doofenperry twitter au!!! and the related squidbob twitter au[4] while also leading to meta fanworks like the OH_mes x Reader text au.[5]

Terminology

  • stan
  • oomf / croomf
  • selca (셀카) is the Korean word for selfie. It is a contraction of the English words self (셀프) and camera (카메라). It was used by international K-pop fans on and off Twitter before the advent of 'selfie' and, though use has declined somewhat since an English term now exists, it is still common amongst K-pop fans.
  • skinny
  • flop
  • local(s)
  • moots
  • clapback
  • ratio
  • carrd
  • bestie
  • d-word

Fancam Replies

K-pop stans on Twitter are known for replying to tweets and trending topics with tweets that contain fancams. The practice is relatively recent, with the first known use of the term "fancam replies" being in a tweet from November 2018,[6] but it's quickly spread in popularity and scope to become perhaps the defining feature of K-pop stan twitter to locals. While the practice of doing so isn't inherently bad and is comparable to the tactic of posting a dismissive .gif to end an argument, some fans see it as, at best, an annoying behavior and at worst genuinely harmful or destructive. In response to a post on /r/OutOfTheLoop asking about the practice, Reddit user Lisbethy defined fancam replies as follows:

it's a trend in kpop stan twitter to reply with any kind of fancam as a comeback, sometimes to up the views in the original video, to promote their idol/group, to prevent/cease an argument or just to plain annoy you, or even all of the above. sometimes it can even be disrespectful, but honestly, it's really not that deep.[7]

The rise of fancams being used in replies can likely be linked to the growing belief that fans can save or otherwise influence the source of their fandom via their shows of support. While this has happened on occasion, girl group EXID being a prominent example,[8] social media allowing the blurring of the fourth wall allowing fans to feel closer to creators resulting in breaking the fourth wall becoming more common means that many fans don't think about the larger implications of fancam replies. The Mashable article about the phenomenon says the following about the practice:

Fancams have become a quintessential part of the K-pop experience, so they won't be going away anytime soon. It's a way of engaging with fandom that, on its own, isn't terrible, because sharing your love and support isn't inherently terrible. There are consequences, however minimal, for the fans and the idols themselves.

How does it look to others to use a real, live person as soapbox, or a "ban" button? That's not to say that someone posting a fancam reply on stan Twitter will send a direct hit to an idol, or fans', reputation. But by including them in the tweet, you are instinctively tying them to your agenda, good or bad. With millions of views plastered on the view count, it reads "we all, collectively, share this opinion."[9]

While not everyone who sees a fancam in the replies to a tweet thinks that all K-pop fans are terrible, when even former K-pop stan twitter users are asking about the toxicity of stan twitter and expressing that it made their lives miserable[10] it's safe to say that the worst behaviors of stan twitter are speaking over all the good it can do in a general sense. Other K-pop fans who maybe don't consider themselves "stans" have also expressed annoyance at the behavior of K-pop stan twitter.[11][12]

"Maybe If They Stanned"

A smaller subsection of the fancam reply phenomenon is the trend of K-Pop fans on Twitter replying to news story links about celebrity deaths or other bad news with the phrase "maybe if [they] stanned [band] then [bad thing wouldn't have happened]." Usually this celebrity is not related to K-Pop, as when Descendants actor Cameron Boyce recently died,[13] but even K-pop stars aren't immune.[14] The practice is wildly derided among locals and K-pop stans alike, with everyone generally agreeing that tragedy is not the time to be making that sort of comment.

if you see someone passed away and you use that as a way to promote your faves by saying “maybe if they stanned....” then you’re part of the problem and i guarantee your faves are disappointed in you.[15]

While many K-pop stans now believe that the vast majority of these replies are trolls and encourage others to block and report the accounts making them[16][17] the fact remains that some of the replies in the beginning were made by actual K-pop stans[18][19] and other people seized upon this behavior as a way to discredit K-pop fans. The phrase is now a meme among both K-pop stan Twitter and the larger Twitter userbase, with other stans of different artists using it in similar situations:

maybe if trump wasn’t a racist and stanned ariana grande he wouldn’t be canceled #ImpeachmentDay[20]

That has led to K-pop stans using the fact that other fandoms also do this as a kind of "gotcha" when people express anger at the fact that K-pop stans reply to tragedies with this type of response[21] rather than apologizing for the behavior of the more toxic parts of their fandom. Not everyone agrees with this mentality, with some K-pop fans being adamant that the fact that this phrase is believable to locals as being from K-pop twitter is due to the fact that K-pop fandom is like that and would do these things, whether or not it originated from actual K-pop fans.

i fucking know people who do the "maybe if he stanned..." are trolls but where did they get that from??? KPOPPIES THAT DISRESPECT OTHER GROUPS!! THE FANCAM IN REPLIES TREND!!! this is exactly why that shit needs to fucking stop these trolls are getting ideas from US[22]

Trend Takeovers

It's a common phenomenon for K-pop fans to take over trending topics on Twitter to promote their fancams in a similar manner to taking over the replies of tweets. Usually the trends are derogatory in the vein of #loganpaulisoverparty[23] or #Lizzoisoverparty[24] and feature replies in the vein of "lizzo who stan sana instead"[25] or "lmao ytbers are sht stan kim seokjin instead."[26] The majority of K-pop stan twitter approves and even enjoys this behavior because many of them view it as a way to find new fancams to watch and enjoy[27][28][29] which highlights the darker side of fancam replies mentioned in the Mashable article. They are also known for taking over tags against them and using the same tactic to overtake it, such as the often-used #kpopstansareoverparty[30] or #fancamsareoverparty.[31] K-pop stans on Twitter frequently say things like "why are yall crying over people dancing"[32] or "whats wrong with people dancing? really got locals that pressed"[33] in response to hastags critical of them, which reflects a disconnect where they don't understand why others find their behavior annoying or even problematic.

While the trends that K-pop fans take over are usually benign, there have been instances of K-pop fans taking over other, more serious hashtags to promote their fancams.[34] NCT fans have taken over a football-related hashtag[35] and there have also been instances of K-pop fandom clashing with other fandoms over hashtag takeovers, such as when Jin quoted Avengers: Endgame and said "I love you 3000" during a concert. This caused a clash between MCU and BTS fandoms, with the MCU fandom claiming that BTS fandom "stole" the hashtag and turning a minor disagreement into a fandom war.[36]

#BanKpopAccounts

In Aug 2019, popular YouTuber Keemstar of the show Drama Alert called for the banning of all K-pop accounts.[37] He then created the hashtag #BanKpopAccounts and baited the Kpop fandom into getting it to trend worldwide. While Keemstar is considered something of a controversial figure in the YouTube community, since he's something of a troll, he did make a good point in his subsequent tweets about the topic:

[@NLiddle16[38]]

.@KEEMSTAR KPop stans aren’t doing anything to you. Let them live their lives supporting whatever artists they want to. BTS, Monsta X, Blackpink, whoever. They aren’t bothering you. #BanKPopAccounts is the dumbest trend. Move on to something that matters, please.

[@KEEMSTAR[39]]

Wrong!! Kpop Stan’s are posting Kpop gif using whatever terms are currently trending world wide. They post Kpop meme under trending terms like ( ActiveShooter ) they are the worst and must be Stopped #BanKpopAccounts

While there is no remaining evidence that any K-pop fan has tried to promote their fancams under that specific trending term, this point echoes the complaints that many locals have about K-pop stan behavior on Twitter. In Dec 2019, Keemstar started the hashtag #MuteAllKpopStans to try and get Twitter's CEO to create a function that would mut K-pop stan accounts automatically so trends would be readable again.[40] Then, on 8 Dec 2019, Keemstar tweeted the following:

Drinking a coffee at 10pm cus im staying up all night to do community service.

I will be flagging every Kpop stan account for spam for next 12 hours. #BanKpopAccounts[41]

This caused #BanKpopAccounts to trend on Twitter again, resulting in more commentary from both sides of the issue. A frequent complaint from the K-pop stan side was that nobody ever does anything about homophobic or racist accounts on Twitter, but similar hashtags expressing disinterest or outright hatred of K-pop stans on twitter have trended multiple times.[42][43]

interesting how its always #BanKpopAccounts and never ban n4zis or ban homophobes or ban racists🤔[44]

However, many Twitter users weren't necessarily mad about K-pop itself or even the fans of K-pop so much as they were tired of K-pop stans clogging up trending topics and hashtags with their fancams and other behavior.

[@tweeterstang[45]]

I honestly just dislike the fans, I've never seen a more annoying fanbase

[@anyidragon[46]]

I love kpop but these fans gotta chill. Arguing with them will be like trying to reason with a child, not all though 😂

US politics and Kpop stans, 2020

In 2020, kpop fandom has gone viral for mobilising their fandom to get involved in trolling the Trump Administration. After the Dallas Police put up an app, asking people to call out Black Lives Matter protesters, Kpop fans put out a call on twitter to flood the app with fancams [47]. They also review-bombed the app on the appstore, and were so successful in spamming the app that they crashed it with sheer volume [48]

Using their tactics of spamming memes and fancams of their biases, they also took over anti-black hashtags like #WhiteLivesMatter, #WhiteoutWednesday and #BlueLivesMatter. [49]. On June 21, Kpop fans were credited with helping disrupt Trump's rally by registering for tickets but not attending, resulting in less than the arena's 19000 capacity for an event that Trump bragged had a million RSVPs [50].

Public opinion towards kpop stan twitter may be changing as a result. Aside from a mainstream media awareness of the power of youth mobilisation, memes have also surfaced like the following:

Kpop-lotr.jpg

Symbols

K-pop fandoms use symbols in their Twitter profile display names to indicate which fandoms they are in. Some symbols are combined to signify that a person is a multi, an individual who is a fan of multiple K-pop idol groups.

References

  1. ^ Chips Ahoy! Twitter Account. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.
  2. ^ Tweet from @AntiFandomTakes. Posted 14 Nov 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.
  3. ^ Rapper Cupcakke mocks Chungha/K-pop on Twitter. Posted 23 Sept 2019. Accessed 13 Dec 2019.
  4. ^ squidbob twitter au‼️ by @RATDAD420. Posted 25 March 2018. Accessed 10 Dec 2019.
  5. ^ OH_mes x reader TEXT AU~ by @messformes. Posted 6 Jan 2019. Accessed 10 Dec 2019.
  6. ^ Tweet from @hyunsoIs. Posted 23 Nov 2018. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.
  7. ^ What's up with k-pop Twitter replying to arguments with fan cams? Posted 7 Oct 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.
  8. ^ EXID Member Hani’s Viral “Up and Down” Fancam Exceeds 20 Million Views. Posted 4 Jun 2016. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.
  9. ^ Reply sections on Twitter are filled with K-pop videos. Here's why. Posted 31 Jul 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.
  10. ^ is kpop stan twitter that toxic ? Posted 8 Dec 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.
  11. ^ Fancams on twitter are annoying. Posted 13 May 2019. Accessed 16 Dec 2019.
  12. ^ Unpopular Opinion: Fancam Spamming/Streaming. Posted 19 April 2019. Accessed 16 Dec 2019.
  13. ^ Tweet from @MissSarahLouise. Posted 7 Jul 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.
  14. ^ Tweet from @lalalalisaSo. Posted 17 Jul 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.
  15. ^ Tweet from @daddyph4ntom. Posted 8 Dec 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.
  16. ^ Tweet from @emtrv. Posted 8 Dec 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.
  17. ^ Tweet from @flirtsjisung. Posted 17 Jul 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.
  18. ^ Tweet from @aesthetaeguk. Posted 19 Jan 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.
  19. ^ Tweet from @estelamd13. Posted 7 Sept 2018. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.
  20. ^ Tweet from @thankyounextari. Posted 9 Dec 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.
  21. ^ Reply from @ItsAJibooty. Posted 16 Oct 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.
  22. ^ Tweet from @bangtanranting. Posted 17 Jul 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.
  23. ^ Tweet from @ArdentPrayer. Posted 7 Oct 2019. Accessed 10 Dec 2019.
  24. ^ Tweet from @goddess_rayray_. Posted 4 Nov 2019. Accessed 10 Dec 2019.
  25. ^ Tweet from @sanascunty. Posted 4 Nov 2019.
  26. ^ Tweet from @Moonsatan06. Posted 8 Dec 2019. Accessed 10 Dec 2019.
  27. ^ Tweet from @navamyg. Posted 9 Dec 2019. Accessed 10 Dec 2019.
  28. ^ Tweet from @steponmenow. Posted 6 Dec 2019. Accessed 10 Dec 2019.
  29. ^ Tweet from @injunloml. Posted 26 Nov 2019. Accessed 10 Dec 2019.
  30. ^ Search for #kpopstansareoverparty on Twitter. Accessed 10 Dec 2019.
  31. ^ #fancamsareoverparty on Twitter. Accessed 16 Dec 2019.
  32. ^ Tweet from @btstokio. Posted 16 Dec 2019. Accessed 16 Dec 2019.
  33. ^ Tweet from @polaroidygs. Posted 16 Dec 2019. Accessed 16 Dec 2019.
  34. ^ Thread from @toxxxicaddict. Posted 16 Oct 2019. Accessed 10 Dec 2019.
  35. ^ NCT's WinWin trends worldwide after fans take over football hashtag. Posted 13 May 2019. Accessed 10 Dec 2019.
  36. ^ Did BTS Just Steal Marvel Avengers’ Phrase ‘I Love You 3000’? The Fandoms Fight It Out! Posted 7 Aug 2019. Accessed 10 Dec 2019.
  37. ^ Tweet from @KEEMSTAR. Posted 31 Aug 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.
  38. ^ Tweet from @NLiddle16. Posted 31 Aug 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.
  39. ^ Tweet from @KEEMSTAR. Posted 31 Aug 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.
  40. ^ Tweet from @KEEMSTAR. Posted 7 Dec 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.
  41. ^ Tweet from @KEEMSTAR. Posted 8 Dec 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.
  42. ^ Tweet from @seungbiin. Posted 9 Dec 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.
  43. ^ Tweet from @epiphjinnie_. Posted 9 Dec 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.
  44. ^ Tweet from @elventae. Posted 9 Dec 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.
  45. ^ Tweet from @tweeterstang. Posted 9 Dec 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.
  46. ^ Tweet from @anyidragon. Posted 9 Dec 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.
  47. ^ [1]Dallas Observer. "Kpop fans troll dallas police trying to arrest protesters
  48. ^ [2] Vulture. Kpop stans crashed Dallas Police App with Fan Cams
  49. ^ [3] CNN. K-pop fans are taking over 'White Lives Matter' and other anti-Black hashtags...
  50. ^ [4]CNN. K-pop fans are being credited with helping disrupt Trump's rally. Here's why that shouldn't be a surprise
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