Is Fandom Good for You? The Cyberpsychology of Stans, Ships and Parasocial Love

What even is social media?

We talked to Evelyn Murray, Psychology PhD candidate at Aston University, at the BPS Cyberpsychology Conference in July last year. She presented her research on how people perceive social media and what counts as a social media platform. We were amazed by how little agreement there is! We knew immediately that we wanted to hear about her research on the podcast.    You can find Evelyn's study here as a pre-print:  Exploring Public Perceptions of Social Media: A Preregistered Mixed-Methods Study" - (Preprint link) https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/n7xr3_v1 [https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/n7xr3_v1] And you can find Evelyn on LinkedIn here https://www.linkedin.com/in/evelyn-murray-7ba154248/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/evelyn-murray-7ba154248/]

Is Fandom Good for You? The Cyberpsychology of Stans, Ships and Parasocial Love

Is fandom good for your mental health—or quietly wrecking it? We are joined by researcher Derek Laffan to discuss his research on K-pop, the positives and negatives of fandom communities. Join us and dive into Cyberpsychology of stans, ships, and parasocial love: K‑pop, influencers and parasocial relationships, parasocial grief, and shipping conspiracies. Resources Positive Psychosocial Outcomes and Fanship in K-Pop Fans: A Social Identity Theory Perspective [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32985364/] - Laffan et al. (2021). Effects of Online Fan Community Interactions on Well-Being and Sense of Virtual Community [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10669391/] - Kim et al. (2023). The role of cyberbullying victimization in the relationship between psychological sense of community and well‑being among BTS fans [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jcop.22924]. - Laffan et al. (2023)

The Truth About Cyberstalking

This week we're focusing on cyberstalking, something far more serious than secretly checking someone's Instagram. We're joined by an incredible guest, Dr Cassidy Weekes, whose research focuses on exactly this issue. We're talking criminal harassment that ruins lives, and we'll look at some high profile cases and stories from the media that highlight just how disturbing this behavior gets. We talk about who the perpetrators are, and what drives them, how they use everything from constant messaging to spyware, GPS tracking, and hacking accounts. We also look at the effects on victims, who can end up with anxiety, depression, PTSD, and serious impacts on their lives and loved ones. This episide definitely needs a content warning and pleae find resources below if you have, or are, experiencing anything like this.    Dr Cassidy Weekes on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/cassidyweekes]   Resources in Ireland Information about what to do if you're being stalked in Ireland ht [https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/justice/law-enforcement/civil-restraining-orders/]t [https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/justice/law-enforcement/civil-restraining-orders/]ps://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/justice/law-enforcement/civil-restraining-orders/ [https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/justice/law-enforcement/civil-restraining-orders/] https://www.stalkinginireland.ie/support [https://www.stalkinginireland.ie/support] https://hotline.ie/irish-support-services/ [https://hotline.ie/irish-support-services/] https://www.womensaid.ie/get-help/talk-to-us/ [https://www.womensaid.ie/get-help/talk-to-us/]     Resources in the UK https://www.suzylamplugh.org/ [https://www.suzylamplugh.org/] National Stalking Helpline: 0808 802 0300 https://alicerugglestrust.org/ [https://alicerugglestrust.org/]   Research Weekes, C, et al.. (2025). Cyberstalking Perpetrators and Their Methods: A Systematic Literature Review [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/15248380251333411]   Branković et al. (2022). How traditional stalking and cyberstalking correlate with the Dark Tetrad traits? [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12144-022-03681-z]   Stevens, et al. (2021). Cyber Stalking, Cyber Harassment, and Adult Mental Health: A Systematic Review   [https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/pdf/10.1089/CYBER.2020.0253?casa_token=NUyQBDvdnpgAAAAA%3ATvPTvsqCqkaY2wjKS-ZqlBjA5eXDmdFgbEOZ5yFGgVitedyqcjpJApaMwaFPsAb78qlSrDOe3HwmFg]

The internet is made of cats

We have a fun episode to start the new year, where we explores the psychology, history, and science behind the internet's (and Nicola’s) obsession with feline content. We were lucky to have a guest in studio with us for this episode, Dr Grace Carroll, an expert in animal behaviour, with a particular interest in cats! We trace the evolution of cat memes from the 2007 launch of "I Can Has Cheezburger?" through to today's weird and viral AI cat Chubby. We unpack how baby features in animals activate our caregiving instincts, why cats might be like cuckoos, how domestication works, what the "cute aggression" phenomenon is (that urge to squeeze adorable things), and how cat videos genuinely improve mood, reduce anxiety, and combat loneliness! Cats conquered the internet because they're perfectly engineered for it—cute, funny, and capable of triggering real emotional connections across all cultures. And for once we need no content warning! And check our instagram for pictures of the cats we talked about in the episode!    Special thanks to Joel Veitch of the band Rathergood.com who kindly allowed us to use the viral song The internet is made of cats in this episode:  https://open.spotify.com/track/1VoLR7BNTIODmwvVWLnobX [https://open.spotify.com/track/1VoLR7BNTIODmwvVWLnobX]   Links to stories/media The history of I Can Has Cheezburger https://www.cnet.com/culture/the-history-of-i-can-has-cheezburger/ [https://www.cnet.com/culture/the-history-of-i-can-has-cheezburger/] https://icanhas.cheezburger.com/ [https://icanhas.cheezburger.com/] BBC - How cats won the internet - Maria Bustillos 2015 https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20150918-how-did-cats-win-the-internet [https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20150918-how-did-cats-win-the-internet] Maru's Youtube https://www.youtube.com/mugumogu [https://www.youtube.com/mugumogu] The unstoppable rise of Chubby: Why TikTok's AI-generated cat could be the future of the internet https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240819-why-these-ai-cat-videos-may-be-the-internets-future [https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240819-why-these-ai-cat-videos-may-be-the-internets-future]   Studies Shiri Lieber-Milo (2025). Cuteness and Its Emotional Responses https://www.mdpi.com/2673-8392/5/3/146 [https://www.mdpi.com/2673-8392/5/3/146] Stavropoulos & Alba. (2018). “It’s so Cute I Could Crush It!”: Understanding Neural Mechanisms of Cute Aggression https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/behavioral-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00300/full [https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/behavioral-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00300/full] Zhang et al. (2025). Animal Video Lovers Always Have Company: The Role of Cyber-Mediated Animal Attachment in Loneliness,  https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/17/2593 [https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/17/2593] Li et al. (2025). Psychological Benefits of Companion Animals: Exploring the Distinction Between Ownership and Online Animal Watching https://brill.com/view/journals/soan/aop/article-10.1163-15685306-bja10244/article-10.1163-15685306-bja10244.xml [https://brill.com/view/journals/soan/aop/article-10.1163-15685306-bja10244/article-10.1163-15685306-bja10244.xml] Kogan et al (2018). Use of Short Animal-Themed Videos to Enhance Veterinary Students’ Mood, Attention, and Understanding of Pharmacology Lectures h [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28960127/]ttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28960127/ [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28960127/] Jessica Gall Myrick. (2015). Emotion regulation, procrastination, and watching cat videos online: Who watches Internet cats, why, and to what effect? https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.06.001 [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.06.001]

The Cyber Christmas Special

Christmas has gone digital—we shop online, video call the family abroad, and scroll through everyone's seemingly perfect holiday posts. But what's all this screen time actually doing to us? In this special Christmas episode, we get into the psychology behind our online Christmas habits. Why do we post photos of our Christmas trees and do we compare them to more perfect ones (like Liams)? Why does Spotify Wrapped feel so personal and what do we get out of sharing it? Can video calls with family make us feel both connected and lonely at the same time? We also cover the messier bits: how Instagram's algorithm shows you everyone's highlight reel (minus the family rows), why Christmas music is fine when you choose it but torture when it's blasted at you in the shops, and the rise in some more negative aspects of the online world over the Christmas break. The takeaway? You don't need to reject your phone at Christmas—just be more thoughtful about how you're using it.   Research Lonely Algorithms on TikTok - Taylor & Chen (2024) [https://academic.oup.com/jcmc/article/29/5/zmae017/7750016?login=false] Music Management in workplaces - Keeler et al. (2025) [https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fapl0001278] Combating Loneliness with Nostalgia - Abeyta et al. (2020) [https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01219/full] Resources HSE Combating Loneliness and isolation [https://www2.hse.ie/mental-health/life-situations-events/loneliness/coping-with/#:~:text=phone%20the%20Samaritans%20on%20freephone,24%2F7%2C%20free%20and%20confidential]  Alone.ie [http://Alone.ie] Avoiding Online Scams [https://www.virginmedia.com/the-edit/online-safety/avoid-christmas-shopping-scams]