Are youngsters getting addicted to K-pop?
It is very hard to imagine the upbeat K-pop content could ever have a bad impact on viewers and fans. However, with the soaring popularity of K-pop and K-dramas, it seems like the Hallyu wave is bringing out bad habits among some of its most ardent and young fans.
A 16-year-old girl in Kerala died by suicide on on Saturday (June 4). In her suicide note, the girl blamed poor grades due to her addiction to K-pop videos and lack of friends as the reasons behind her suicide.
Just last year, the Women and Child Development (WCD) Department had warned that K-pop and K-drama addiction is taking hold of several youngsters, especially teenagers. Parents are increasingly bringing in their children for therapy due to the addition of K-pop music.
In 2021, a 15-year-old girl ran away from home after meeting a stranger on social media who promised to take her to South Korea. Fortunately, she was found by the police in Bengaluru and was returned to her parents.
Why is K-pop so addictive?
1.One reason could be because K-pop or K-dramas are designed to provide short-lived excitement, a dose of dopamine, or an escape from reality. They are known for taking the situation from our reality and then morphing it into a fantasy. Binge-watching can lead to sleep deprivation, depression, mood swings, irritability and poor concentration.
2. There are several instances of K-pop or K-drama obsession leading to social isolation as fans spend more and more time-consuming content.
3. Visiting South Korea for fans abroad is a dream. And sometimes the K-pop or K-drama obsession even extends to their love/dating life, when fans start expecting their dates to be nothing short of a highly unrealistic K-drama actor or an idol. Not to mention, the ‘K’ wave can also lead to fetishization.
4. K-pop also cultivates a very strong fan culture. The fan culture can also turn out to be toxic. In South Korea, fan culture is such that actors or idols sometimes risk a backlash if they do something their fans don’t approve of, like dating. Or they could even become victims of sasaengs, a term used to describe the fans who take to stalking their favourite idols or actors, known as biases.
5. It could also be the age factor. Teenagers are more prone to developing an addiction if their screentime or the shows they watch aren’t regulated properly. It’s not just K-pop that can be addictive. Like this Reddit user explains her ordeal, it can be anime/manga, fanfiction, music, etc.
On Reddit and on Quora, some people have shared their stories of being addicted to K-pop and K-dramas and even how they overcame the addiction.
Some ways to overcome these addicitions are:
- To admit that there is a problematic obsession.
- Unfollowing or blocking websites, social media handles, feeding all the content.
- Seeking help from other fans, who are likely to better understand the problem
- Seek professional help if required
Of course, not everyone gets addicted to K-pop or K-dramas. And it depends on how you consume the content.