62 Consumer Fandom – Managing the Participatory Environment: Taylor Swift, surveillance, and Privacy in Fan Communities.
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Alina Patterson
7123850
Tuesday December 5, 2023
COMM 3P18
Final Paper
Managing the Participatory Environment: Taylor Swift, surveillance, and Privacy in Fan Communities.
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Taylor Swift is an embodiment of the evolving dynamic between celebrities and their fans in the era of participatory culture, where fan involvement transcends national boundaries. This critical analysis dives into the complex interconnections of participatory culture inside Taylor Swift’s fan groups, focusing on privacy and surveillance as it examines the consequences of constant connectivity and its effect on celebrity and fan experiences. Taylor Swift’s internet presence has created a participatory culture that has given her fans the ability to actively add to the story of her personal and professional life. But these networks’ growing tendency toward surveillance begs important concerns about the moral impacts of fan interaction and the limits of celebrity privacy. This analysis explores the potential consequences of this participatory environment for celebrity experiences as well as the shifting dynamics of privacy in an era of continual connectivity, as fans actively engage with Swift’s story, exploring the themes of empowerment and intrusion. Within the complex web of Taylor Swift’s fan base communities, this critical analysis dives into the complex interactions between participatory culture, surveillance, and privacy. The act of Swift purposefully leveraging social media sites like Tiktok, Twitter, and other platforms to cultivate a feeling of closeness and inclusiveness transforms fan interactions into a force that both upends and reinforces established privacy conventions. This investigation goes beyond the contrast between adulation and intrusion to examine the nuances of fan monitoring. When Taylor Swift’s relationships, and artistic endeavors are thoroughly examined, the ethical implications of participatory culture are brought to light. The paradox is that the need for more genuine relationships grows among fans, but it also becomes more difficult to discern between genuine involvement and invasive observation. Throughout the duration of this
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analysis, many different sources will be thoroughly examined in order to conduct an informative and accurate analysis.
Significance and Background Information
The right of those in the public eye, such actors, musicians, or public personalities, to retain control over certain aspects of their personal information and actions is known as privacy in the context of celebrity life. Celebrities have a right to privacy for things that are not meant for public consumption, even though they may voluntarily share portions of their lives with the public through their work, interviews, and social media. The connection between a celebrity and their fan base can be seen as consumer fandom. “Consumer fandom can be defined as subcultures, groups, and/or communities of like-minded consumers, revolving around a unifying interest or object” (Hao, 2020, p. 18). Within the framework of Taylor Swift’s privacy concerns, consumer fandom pertains to the fervent devotion and involvement of her followers and the ways in which their activities, exchanges, and manifestations of their fandom could potentially affect the musician’s privacy (Kulinicheva, 2021). Kulinicheva’s article titled “sneakerheads as fans and sneaker fandom as participatory culture” discusses how sneakerheads are often described as people who have too strong an attachment to their shoes or purchasing shoes. This can be related to Swift fans due to the fact that fans who have a strong attachment to Swift and her music are called ‘swifties’. Despite the fact that Taylor Swift has an abundance of fans and great support, there have been certain cases where privacy rights have been violated, as will be observed below. In order to comprehend the dynamic between a celebrity, in this case, Taylor Swift, and her fan base, the concept of “consumer fandom” is established. Consumer fandom is important to consider
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when analyzing the potential effects that fan interactions, behaviors, and expressions may have on an artist’s privacy. The relationship that exists between a celebrity and their fan base is vital because it sheds light on the dynamics that control how public visibility and private space are balanced. Even considering her tremendous fan base and popular backing, Taylor Swift has experienced fans violating her private rights. This presents a nuanced viewpoint by recognizing that boundaries should be respected even in the setting of enthusiastic fandom. The analysis suggests that fans’ passion and participation, when carried to extremes, may infringe upon the celebrity’s privacy.
Online Activity of Audiences
One of the main connections between privacy and surveillance concerns and Taylor Swift is the news that Taylor Swift secretly used facial recognition technologies to monitor her fans at recent concerts in order to keep herself safe from stalkers. ‘By putting up a kiosk showing a video of the concert’s highlights and housing a camera that recorded the faces of anyone who stopped to look at it, security personnel effectively deceived audience members into giving a clear frontal view of their faces’ (Stanley, 2018). There have been multiple documented instances throughout the years of people trying to harass or stalk Swift. In order to protect herself, Taylor Swift has been quite transparent about her experiences and has taken legal action against some of these individuals. Security measures have been implemented to allay these worries, including heightened personal security such as the facial recognition taking place at her concerts and occasionally judicial interventions. Although many fans who were present at her concerts where the facial recognition was taking place
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have some concerns as to their photos being taken without consent and where did these photos go after the concert ended. ‘It was later released that after the concert the data was sent to a command post located in Nashville, Tennessee that attempted to match thousands of images to a database of all her known stalkers’ (Etienne, 2018). Before attendees paid for their tickets, the concert venue staff should have informed the fans that their faces would be scanned for security reasons. Additionally, they should have disclosed to the guests whether or not they intended to save the pictures and what they would do with them. ‘Security professionals are accustomed to working in secret, but people have a right to know when they are being exposed to this new, contentious, and extremely potent technology’ (Stanley, 2018).
Mitchell Taebel, a thirty six year old man from Indiana, was accused earlier this year of social media threats, stalking, invasion of privacy, intimidation, and harassment after he showed up at Taylor Swift’s Nashville home. “He would happily wear a bomb if he cannot be with his soul mate,” Taebel wrote in his first Instagram message to Swift in late March, according to the affidavit that CNN was able to receive. Taebel was Swift’s “soulmate,” according to later texts that threatened her father and the dancers on her The Eras Tour in the case of a “sexual performance of ‘Vigilant Shit.'” Then, on May 5, just in time for Swift’s The Eras Tour weekend performances in Nashville, Taebel made the trip from Long Beach, Indiana to her apartment in Nashville. Taebel slipped through an unlocked doorway into the apartment complex. Taebel introduced himself as a “great-looking, well-dressed, popular TV host” when Swift’s security officers questioned him (Kreps, 2023). Taylor Swift is undoubtedly accustomed to living in fear because she has had many such experiences. “You
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kind of start preparing for bad things when you get enough stalkers trying to break into your house” (Swift, 2019).
The number of stalkers targeting Taylor Swift has not decreased. Late in 2022 Swift’s private security ordered a 54-year-old woman to leave the home’s front gate area, but she refused. Kimberly Meyer, 54, was seen trespassing on the premises just outside of the front gates. When the police arrived, she was still there. She was taken into custody, and charged with trespassing. Following her actions, she was released and appeared in court in July of this year (Batey, 2023). It is abundantly evident that Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour could be the cause of the sharp rise in stalker activity for Swift. Another home invader was found taking a shower in Swift’s house late 2018 and pleaded guilty. Roger Alvarado entered a guilty plea to criminal contempt and attempted burglary. Alvarado was charged with breaking into Swift’s New York City residence, having a shower, and falling asleep. The Manhattan district attorney’s office accepted Alvarado’s plea offer of six months in prison (Fitzpatrick, 2018).
It is something to consider that not only do privacy concerns affect not only the celebrity but the celebrities family as well. “What people often don’t realize is that the effect on the individual is bad, but it’s far worse on their family” (Horton, 2022). For one of two specific reasons, these family members frequently find themselves in the spotlight. First, the celebrity they are linked to or in a relationship with becomes well-known for a certain reason, and the media then starts chasing them. For instance, the media frequently targets a public figure’s marriage after they have an extramarital affair. Second, they can discover that while they are at the focus of a story, their connection to a well-known person makes them seem
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unworthy of journalistic coverage (Horton, 2022). Media organizations may partake in intrusive reporting in an effort to learn personal information about family members’ relationships, health conditions, and everyday routines. This article can connect to the famous
news being spread throughout social media with the new forming relationship between Taylor Swift and NFL player Travis Kelce. Although Travid Kelce is famous himself and has his own following and media, his relationship with Swift has stirred up continuous questions of fans wanting to learn more about their personal relationship they most likely want to be kept private. Football fans are blaming Swift for Kelce’s recent injury in his game against the Vikings. “Some football fans believe that Taylor Swift’s absence from the crowd is the sole explanation why Travis Kelce suffered an injury on Sunday. While Travis later returned and secured a touchdown, fans couldn’t help but point out Taylor’s absence as the reason why he got hurt mid-game” (TMZ, 2023). An extensive number of tweets then surfaced as fans created the ‘Taylor Swift curse’. Fans tweets stated : “Taylor Swift curse strikes again” and “Taylor Swift is the new Madden Curse” referencing the bad luck that would come to the player who ends up on the cover of the Madden video game each year.
A case study on Taylor Swift’s public persona and her privacy concerns covers a wide range of topics. “The absence of privacy, or rather, its violation, was a commonly discussed subject. Swift describes a life in which she is rarely alone, from getting ready in the morning with makeup and hair to doing interviews, doing live shows, signing autographs, and holding meet-and-greets. When she does, she admits to having paranoia since she constantly believes that someone is observing her, whether it be paparazzi or admirers (Junes, 2023). Someone’s whole responsibility is to decipher information that I don’t want the public to see. They
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consider your priorities and career, attempting to determine which would be the most damaging or revealing. “I’m quite private about the fact that I don’t undress for photos or anything. Therefore, the thought of having a video of me evolving scares me. Having to search restrooms and changing rooms for cameras is depressing. I don’t value walking around in my undies with my windows open” (Junes, 2023). This case study is related to a TikTok video of a woman filming herself at Swift’s old NYC apartment, which went viral in late July of this year. The video was deemed “creepy and disrespectful” by other supporters who left comments regarding the video (Mahapatra, 2023). Later, the woman who had uploaded the TikTok took down the video and apologized to Taylor in a statement. “I’m not a stalker, but I had to peek in when I saw your old door was open,” she stated in the video. “I walked through it and thought, ‘What am I doing?’ after it had been open for two hours and I had returned. I genuinely can’t believe I’m in the same hallways as Taylor Swift. “That hit me when I returned to my apartment, but I snooped around a little and felt uneasy. I left because I didn’t want to get arrested” (Mahapatra, 2023). Even though Swift moved out of this apartment, she may still feel very vulnerable and uneasy about broadcasting videos of herself moving through it. I think people tend to forget that superstars have feelings too.
Our expectations for more information, that is, for what is public, increase as our expectations on privacy decline. Everything is now up for grabs for our passive entertainment. ‘The private lives of celebrities have long served as story material for entertainment and mainstream media, a topic that has been explored in the academic literature on celebrities. Despite their exceptional recognizability, there is a growing emphasis on conceptualizing the celebrity simultaneously as a commodity with PR responsibilities and as
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a private individual with citizenship rights’ (McNamara, n.a.). Celebrities used to only be found on magazine covers and the red carpet, but now they can be found all over social
media, where they freely share details about their personal life. The boundaries between the public and private spheres are getting more hazy as a result of this tendency, making it harder to identify which is which. In a more complex than previously held dichotomy, celebrities are both private individuals with inherent rights to autonomy and dignity and commodities for the public to consume. The current information-consuming environment necessitates a thorough examination of the mutually beneficial interplay between public fascination and personal privacy. In order to maintain this fragile balance, we must learn to consume media more responsibly and appreciate the complexity of the people who capture our interest. These people have rights as private citizens as well as public figures, and they should be treated with dignity and respect. Not only are fans so invested in Taylor Swift’s life and her relationship with NFL player Travis Kelce, but fans are also comparing their own lives and relationships to theirs. It is pretty difficult for fans to accurately compare their relationship to Swift’s and Kelce’s as they only show us what they want to in terms of how their relationship really is. Several fans are reposting TikTok videos of Kelce holding Swift’s hand while exiting a restaurant and stating “All I want is a man to treat me how Travis Kelce treats Taylor Swift”. As much as this is a sweet gesture, no one really knows how their relationship is behind closed doors and I believe it is important to refrain from comparing personal relationships to famous celebrities relationships because you really never know how they truly are.
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There are additional environments outside social networks where we must reconsider or perhaps reset our expectations around privacy (Day, n.a.). Beyond social media, celebrities are undoubtedly scrutinized in many other areas of their lives, which has led to a reassessment of privacy standards. For a considerable amount of time, tabloids, entertainment news programs, and paparazzi have been essential in sustaining the myth surrounding the lives of celebrities. These platforms’ intrusiveness frequently goes beyond the bounds of ethical journalism, posing moral dilemmas about the right to privacy. Beyond simply being bothersome, invasive photos and stories have a negative effect on celebrities’ emotional well-being, reputation, and interpersonal connections. It is possible that extremely famous celebrities like Taylor Swift have gotten used to constantly being photographed by paparazzi and crazed fans, but it can only be assumed how frustrating it must be to never be able to have a part of your life nobody knows about. An example of this is a TikTok post that was taken from a part of Swift’s documentary titled ‘Miss Americana’. The video shows Swift getting into a car from her place that was crowded with fans. In the TikTok Swift states, “Well this is my front yard and I’m highly aware of the fact that this is not normal”. The statement “this is not normal” assumes significance, implying that people are not welcome in her front yard and that their presence goes beyond what is usual or appropriate. Unauthorized access is typically regarded as a privacy invasion, especially when it occurs without the owner’s consent. Celebrities frequently struggle to keep their personal boundaries in check, and they may become especially upset when someone trespasses on their land. If this is the case, Taylor Swift’s worry about someone invading her personal space is reflected in the phrase.
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Conclusion
Taylor Swift’s experience sheds light on the nuanced nature of celebrity privacy empowerment. Her remarkable career has largely been fueled by her unwavering dependence on artistic expression as a potent tool for reclaiming narrative control, responding to criticism, and forging intimate bonds with her audience. Swift’s deliberate use of music to confront personal problems, steer her own story, and control her public persona all help to empower her. Her supporters value her unorthodox strategy, which also defies conventional notions of celebrity privacy. Swift made the deliberate decision to use her music as an agent to help her cope with the demands and curious eyes that are typical in her field. By turning personal experiences into shared ones through her words, she purposefully establishes closeness and actively directs the narrative. Swift’s active participation in her own story casts doubt on the idea that public attention should be accepted in a passive manner, which has larger implications for the discussion of celebrities’ right to private empowerment. Instead, she sees it as a strength, offering an interesting case study on how famous people can express their uniqueness, handle fame, and reframe the relationship between private and public visibility in the contemporary media landscape. In conclusion, the analysis of Taylor Swift’s experiences in the interactive setting highlights the complex relationships that exist between privacy, surveillance, and celebrity in fan networks. Through deliberate use of social media, she is redefining the conventional parameters of celebrity interaction, and her story is becoming a valuable case study in the ongoing discussion about how to strike a balance between public figures’ right to privacy and their fans’ sincere enthusiasm in the ever-changing world of celebrity culture.
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Work Cited
Course Readings
Hao, Andy (2020). Understanding Consumer Fandom: Literature Review and Conceptual Framework. In C. Wang (ed)., Handbook of research on the impact of fandom in society and consumerism. IGI Global, 18-37.
Kulinicheva, Ekaterina (2021) “Sneakerheads as fans and sneaker fandom as participatory culture”.
Additional Sources
Batey, E. 2023. Woman Arrested For Trespassing At Taylor Swift’s Rhode Island Home.
Fitzpatrick, K. 2018. Home Intruder Who Showered in Taylor Swift’s House Pleads Guilty.
Kreps, D. 2023. Indiana Man Arrested for Stalking Taylor Swift, Intimidating Her Eras Tour Dancers.
Swift, T. 2019. 30 Things I Learned Before Turning 30.
Stanley, J. 2018. The Problem With Using Face Recognition on Fans at a Taylor Swift Concert.
Peer Reviewed and Social Media Sources
Day, C. 2010. “We’re All Celebrities Now,” in Computing in Science & Engineering.
Horton, G. (2022) Celebrities’ families and privacy: the need for enhanced self-regulatory protection. Communications Law: Journal of Computer, Media and Telecommunications Law. pp. 24-36.
Junes, E. K. M. (2023). Celebrity, music, and personal persona: A case study of Taylor Swift.
Mahapatra, T. 2023. Taylor Swift fans slam ‘creepy’ intruder filming inside her former NYC apartment.
TRAVIS KELCE INJURY DUBBED ‘TAYLOR SWIFT CURSE’ … After She Misses Game. TMZ. 2023.
