Fans are amazing and a joy to have around. Just make sure you have them at a safe distance unless you know them pretty well. I've had more than one person get a little too close to me when I'm not prepared to deal with them in such close proximity and barrage me with questions, shoutout requests, and then get mad at me because I didn't answer them immediately, especially when they're under the age of 13 and don't understand what privacy is.
I can deal with trolls. I can deal with haters. But an uncontrolled fan is another story. That's why I've set up a formal contact method instead of just accepting friend requests on Discord from people I don't know. In Hollywood, whenever a celebrity walks out of a car and into a studio, there's a red carpet and some fancy barriers. They exist for a reason.
Again, true fans are wonderful when you know how to handle them (and don't take them for granted because they will stand by you even when no one else will. If you have fans at all, consider yourself honored and blessed) Just don't let them get so close that they start spilling over into your personal or private life. That's when they become dangerous, as well-meaning as they are. I wish I could word it differently, but that is the truth because I've lived it. It's stuff celebrities don't like talking about too much because it's a touchy subject. I'm friends with a celebrity and she will quickly agree with this very point.
If you happen to be fan of someone, this is also very helpful in understanding the elusive nature of the celebrity. They have to be just to be safe. It's a scary life sometimes and comes with tremendous responsibility including all kinds of pressures to deal with every day. Eminem once said this:
"Trust is hard to come by. That's why my circle is small and tight."
You don't have to be a Markiplier or a Pewdiepie to learn how true this is. I'm having to put controls in place for when people outside my circle want to see me and I don't even have 1000 subscribers yet. The need came sooner than I was prepared for.
This was a very long post and I probably could have trimmed it down a bit but this is something I felt needed to be shared, since we're talking about fans.
