Are you stuck inside Gaga's world?

[Lucas 26,708]

Not since before ARTPOP tbh

[Supersonic 49,376]

Hmmm. Interesting. I've noticed that some people clutch their claws very heavily to Gaga's commercial success as a way to compensate an unsatisfying life/career. There's something subconcious that always draws me to Gaga and keep me interested in her art and her as a human being. I wouldn't say that my affinity for her ever messed with my goals/ambitions/career. Actually, I think my love for her made me more hungry to achieve personal and professional stimulation.

[Katie14 4,828]

I feel the same. 

 

It is absurd. Gaga is no different than any other music artist, who at least tries to communicate and stay connected to their fans. I've seen this exact message we see in the OP in other fanbases throughout the years. Music artists have always had those die hard fans. I mean, Elvis has been dead for years and there is still tens of thousands of fans from all over the world that go to Graceland for the anniversary of his death.

Gaga is not unique in this situation and her fans aren't some unusual group. The culture of following an artist, at varying levels, has been around before Gaga was even born.

Good for fans if they decide to quit using Gaga as their escape from real life, but not all fans are detached from real life or not participating fully in their lives...and it certainly isn't Gaga's fault if any fan makes the choice to ignore certain aspects of their life. If individuals have an average IQ and aren't severely mentally unstable, then they are responsible for how they spend their time and the choices they make, both past and present. Gaga isn't to blame for anyone's poor choices or for choices they regret.

Like everything in life, sometimes we use certain distractions or props when we need them, but the choice is always ours. Those distractions can be a fun hobby or they can become an outright addiction. Individuals are responsible for monitoring themselves and pulling back when needed.

I am not blaming her. It isn’t her responsibility to make sure we have balance in our lives. I just wonder what her true intentions are. Like others have said on here, she may be genuine and really care about creating a safe place for fans to feel connected and have a sense of belonging. At the same time, creating such loyal fans is a huge marketing strategy. You can look at it like she attracted young people who are very vulnerable either because they have anxiety issues, are gay, depressed, ect . These are the same people who are more likely to become overly obsessed with her because they feel the need to escape reality. Not everyone has a healthy mindset and is able to not get addicted.

[Creyk 17,805]

Post of the century.  To blame a pop star or anyone for that matter for poor choices we make is bordering on delusional. And much easier and safer than facing our own demons

No one blamed Gaga.

[grndmothrmonst 150]

 Leave the op and other folks in this thread alone.

my post was in no way directed at the OP. In fact I empathize with her/him.  It was directed however to those users that would use the OP's pain as an opportunity to blame/bash Gaga and not take personal responsibility

[Yanko 9,860]

my post was in no way directed at the OP. In fact I empathize with her/him.  It was directed however to those users that would use the OP's pain as an opportunity to blame/bash Gaga and not take personal responsibility

no one bashed/blamed her tho   does this site even know the meaning of the word "bashing" ? 

[MelbHawker 6,583]

As if your obsession with Gaga drew focus away from your own life and aspirations. 


 

[djBuffoon 12,115]

no one bashed/blamed her tho   does this site even know the meaning of the word "bashing" ? 

"Its like she has been giving us this fake sense of fulfillment that feels so real. But it isn't real."

and there have been numerous implications on this thread that the intense connection that some fans feel to her is something that she is calculating, orchestrating, and exploiting. As if she's some James Bond villain.

[Tommy Monster 846]

I was never obssesed with her like really really much, maybe a little, but I never neglected my life because of her...  

Funny thing is that whenever she releases a new album, I feel like there is this strange sense of a new beginning in my life, or when she's doing well, I do too...  now she acts in ahs and I joined the theater group in school  

[JazzGa 14,620]

Ah, millennial escapism. I'm glad some of us are growing out of it at least. Whether it's the internet, video games, or netflix binging, our generation has an obsession with fantasy and with leaving reality to plug in "somewhere else." And you are right, if you're spending hours a day pretending you're not living in the real world, you will be missing out on opportunities to grow and connect with others. Even Gaga herself has said numerous timessage that we need to put our damn phones down, log off the damn internet, and have real interactions with people in our lives. There is nothing wrong with supporting your favorite musician for a couple minutes every day, and it's also important to remember that the community of fellow members is what keeps a lot of people on GGD all day, not just gaga herself. Stanning is ok, just stan in moderation! :highfive:

[Giorno Giovanna 3,178]

great post and threadd

 

I noticed the same with me a few years ago, around the time Born This Way got a bit critique and such.

It was like....I got really angry at negative press concerning Gaga and asked myself why I reacted this way, thus realizing me and many other fans who are similar live way to much their life through Gaga, like Gaga's success and positive things relate to them, which they might do maybe, but I guess not that much tbh...

Anyway I stopped caring about what others say about her, mostly the negative things and started to be more myself and have kind of a barrier...Gaga's success is her own, and I should become great by myself, not live it watered down through Gaga's success.

[Whispering 18,865]

I am not blaming her. It isn’t her responsibility to make sure we have balance in our lives. I just wonder what her true intentions are. Like others have said on here, she may be genuine and really care about creating a safe place for fans to feel connected and have a sense of belonging. At the same time, creating such loyal fans is a huge marketing strategy. You can look at it like she attracted young people who are very vulnerable either because they have anxiety issues, are gay, depressed, ect . These are the same people who are more likely to become overly obsessed with her because they feel the need to escape reality. Not everyone has a healthy mindset and is able to not get addicted.

As I stated in my follow up comment to Twisted Shadows, I was in no way referring to the OP. I applaud your growth and what you have decided.

Yes, Gaga is genuine and she does care for her fans and communicate with them, same way that other artists do...in the past and in the present. 

The super stans are usually the young, oftentimes who don't have that much going on at the time. All the boy bands, rock bands in the past, and the superstars of the time garnered a loyal intense fanbase. Elvis, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Grateful Dead, Nsync, Back Street Boys Nirvana, MJ, Madonna, Britney, Mariah, 1D, Taylor Swift, Bieber, Selena, Miley, Rihanna, Beyoncé... 

Interesting and/or passionate artists and superstars draw an active and passionate fanbase, with varying levels of commitment from the members of that fandom. As I stated in my first comment, this occurrence is not a unique situation to Gaga or her fanbase. 

[JazzGa 14,620]

As I stated in my follow up comment to Twisted Shadows, I was in no way referring to the OP. I applaud your growth and what you have decided.

Yes, Gaga is genuine and she does care for her fans and communicate with them, same way that other artists do...in the past and in the present. 

The super stans are usually the young, oftentimes who don't have that much going on at the time. All the boy bands, rock bands in the last, and the superstars garnered a loyal intense fanbase. Elvis, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Grateful Dead, Nsync, Back Street Boys Nirvana, MJ, Madonna, Britney, Mariah, 1D, Taylor Swift, Bieber, Selena, Miley, Rihanna, Beyoncé... 

As I said before, this situation is not unique to Gaga or her fanbase. 

Interesting and/or passionate artists and superstars draw an active and passionate fanbase, with varying levels of commitment from the members of that fandom. As I stated in my first comment, this occurrence is not a unique situation and your 

Your posts comparing modern and past superstars got me thinking, sis. I think that the internet has put a unique twist on stan/superfan behavior. When I think of Beatlemania, or Dead Heads, I think of a group of friends sitting around listening to albums together, bonding over their shared love. But when I think of a modern stan I think of someone sitting on their computer alone, stereotypically picking fights with other stans online. Maybe Beatle stans and Dead Heads went at it, i dunno lol.

 The internet is great in some ways- i, for example, don't have any irl friends who like Gaga so it's nice to have access to infinite people to discuss her with. But do I have more fun when I spend my evening on a forum discussing my fav, or when i go out with friends and acquaintances to see a local band or one of my friends fav bands that I don't necessarily even like? Of course it's more fun to spend quality time with physical people.  I think that loving Gaga isn't the root of the problem, it's spending too much time alone online.

[NewUsername 11,375]

It's kind of genius (and I genuinely think this is one of Gaga's genius achievements, even though I'll probably be dragged for saying it) how Gaga managed to, with unique untried social media tools for which she will be remembered more than her fashion - trust me, build this community around her that is of such extreme commercial benefit due to personal entanglement. I mean, I know that everyone thinks Gaga has a genuine relationship with her fans blah blah, even if that's true, that still doesn't nullify the fascinating psychology tricks going on.

I mean, this whole "I can only feel good about myself until Gaga is on top and the queen and slayage etc. etc." movement is as scary as it is effective. Over the years I have found it shocking that Gaga pretends to be 100% unaware of this mechanism of psychological projection that's going on in her fanbase, to the extent that it's one of my prime reasons for thinking that Gaga may have unspoken motives in the way she approaches us.

I dunno, it'll be interesting to see it develop in the future. I'm glad that, even though I love discussing Gaga, I couldn't give one **** about her success (simply because I have so many other artists to pay attention to - probably why I'm saved from the curse), I'm not forsaking my life to make Gaga a richer woman. & I'm glad you had a very simple but inevitably dramatic realization about that too

well, of course she likes the fame, the money and the attention, but imo it shows that at least she's genuine to quite some extent and probably a lot more than a lot of her peers. But it would indeed be foolish to think she ONLY likes us because of "being her monster family" and so on

[Morphine Prince 105,627]

I didn't realize some fans on here were SO dependent and involved like this... this is actually scary.

I'm glad you realized this because you need to live your own life.

For me, being a Gaga fan is a past time. It helps me escape life for a bit. My goals are still mine though. I'm a college student right now and I'm working towards my goals. She hasn't interfered with my life in that way.