In classrooms and college dorms across the world, students are turning to a new kind of mentor: not teachers, not parents, but celebrities. Whether it’s Taylor Swift’s poetic vulnerability, Billie Eilish’s emotional honesty, or YouTubers like MrBeast modelling philanthropy, American pop culture figures have taken on a role once reserved for real-life guides. For Gen Z and Gen Alpha, idol worship is more than entertainment. It’s how many are shaping their values, expressing their identity, and making sense of the world.In an age where traditional mentorship can feel out of step with young people’s realities, fandom has become the new framework through which students explore selfhood, community, and purpose.
When mentorship comes with a fanbase
Today’s students aren’t just watching celebrities, they’re learning from them. Taylor Swift, for instance, models resilience and reinvention through her re-recorded albums and her openness about heartbreak, anxiety, and personal growth. Her lyrics double as emotional guides for teens navigating everything from friendship drama to academic pressure.YouTubers like Emma Chamberlain, with her candid monologues on burnout, self-doubt, and growing up online, feel more like big sisters than distant influencers. For many students, her unfiltered presence offers comfort and relatability that traditional authority figures may not.Then there’s MrBeast, whose massive philanthropic stunts, from planting millions of trees to funding surgeries, don’t just entertain. They inspire students to imagine impact, generosity, and entrepreneurship on their own terms, showing that creativity and giving can coexist with internet fame.Even artists like Olivia Rodrigo, who writes heartbreak anthems that double as therapy sessions, serve as unofficial counselors for teens wrestling with identity and emotion. In these figures, students find mentors who are flawed, expressive, and unapologetically human.
Fandom as a mirror for identity and belonging
Fandom spaces surrounding American celebrities are no longer just side hobbies, they’re ecosystems where students explore who they are. Being a Swiftie, a Billie Eilish fan, or a Marvel superfan means more than loving an artist or character. It means speaking a shared cultural language, participating in in-jokes, decoding lyrics, creating memes, and rallying behind causes.Take Marvel fandoms: students find complex reflections of morality, race, and identity through characters like Miles Morales, Wanda Maximoff, or Kamala Khan. These stories offer more than escapism, they spark conversations about inclusion, justice, and belonging.Even BookTok, fueled by American young adult novels and authors, has become a cultural force among high schoolers. It gives teens space to discuss queerness, ambition, family trauma, and the kind of emotional nuance rarely found in classrooms.Fandom has also become a training ground for real-life skills. Whether it’s running a fan account, organizing a livestream party, or producing fan art and podcasts, students are honing design, communication, and leadership skills in communities that validate their voice.
Para-social comfort: One-sided bonds that feel real
Psychologists call it “para-social bonding”, when individuals form emotional attachments to people they’ve never met. But for students, these bonds can feel just as comforting as real friendships.Billie Eilish, for example, doesn’t just sing about depression or self-doubt, she lives it publicly. Her raw interviews and dark-pop soundscapes resonate deeply with teens navigating similar feelings. Likewise, Selena Gomez has become a mental health advocate by speaking openly about her bipolar diagnosis and therapy journey, offering language to students who may not otherwise know how to talk about their own struggles.Emma Chamberlain’s awkward silences, coffee obsession, and rejection of influencer perfectionism help Gen Z and Alpha feel seen. In a world of highlight reels, her vulnerability feels like a mirror, not a mask.And MrBeast’s transformation from quirky gamer to philanthropic giant gives students a front-row seat to what real-world impact can look like in the creator economy. These celebrities aren’t just admired—they’re trusted, especially in moments when students feel unseen or unheard in real life.
Turning passion into purpose
American fandoms don’t just stay online, they fuel real-world action. Taylor Swift fans have launched voter registration drives, raised money for LGBTQ+ nonprofits, and pushed back against misogyny in the media, all inspired by Swift’s own activism and political statements.After Selena Gomez’s call to fund mental health services, fan-led campaigns donated to wellness centers and ran school awareness programs.During the 2020 protests for racial justice, many young fans of Billie Eilish and other artists used their platforms to educate, fundraise, and show up, online and offline. Fandom, in these cases, becomes the gateway to youth-led civic engagement and collective voice.
The cost of over-identification
Still, idol worship isn’t always harmless. Over-identification with celebrities can blur the line between admiration and obsession. Online fan wars, Swifties vs. Kanye fans, Marvel vs. DC, Emma Chamberlain vs. other influencers, can devolve into toxic attacks, exclusion, and harassment.Social media algorithms often magnify these rivalries, creating echo chambers that reward outrage and stan behavior over healthy boundaries. For students struggling with identity, these digital arenas can amplify self-comparison, anxiety, and unrealistic expectations.When a celebrity makes a misstep, or simply changes, some students experience the fallout like a personal betrayal. Without media literacy and emotional detachment, students can become emotionally tethered to personas that were never designed to guide them.
Where identity meets influence
Whether writing journal entries inspired by Taylor Swift lyrics, starting a YouTube channel modeled after MrBeast, or quoting Marvel heroes in college essays, students are using fandom as a lens to explore who they are, and who they might become.In the absence of consistent, relatable mentors, American celebrities and their fandoms have filled that void. They offer stories, emotions, and blueprints that feel closer to students’ lived experience than traditional role models ever could.For educators, parents, and policymakers, this shift demands attention, not dismissal. Because when mentorship looks like a pop star, a comic book character, or a YouTuber with a mission, it’s no longer about who stands at the front of the classroom. It’s about who makes students feel seen, heard, and hopeful.TOI Education is on WhatsApp now. Follow us here.
