Teenagers are lining bedroom walls with boy band posters, little girls swooning over Kim Kardashian's newest outfit, and boys memorizing their favorite baseball player's stats after every game can often be harmless admiration. Or, they could be signs of an obsessive compulsion that brings fandom to unhealthy psychological levels. Parents, meanwhile, struggle to toe the line between what is normal development and harmful derailment.
"Adults may find it puzzling, even irritating, but it's not trivial," child psychiatrist Dr. Alan Ravitz told the Child Mind Institute about this almost irrational adoration. "We call it 'child's play,' but it's actually part of the work necessary for healthy development."
Growing up is a time to establish psychological and emotional independence, however, too much focus on the lives of others can hinder a child from developing their individuality from within. The science of "celebrity worship syndrome" and "idolatry" is rife with convoluted perspectives, and many parents may not understand why children focus all their attention on celebrities — sometimes to the point of obsession, disrupting their social lives