People wait for hours in sweating conditions, only to enter a stadium where every single seat is full. The air is filled with anticipation, with a mix of thrill and impatience. The heat coats   the people like a heavy blanket, but no one leaves. Who they’re waiting for promises to be unforgettable. Who are they waiting for? Taylor Swift.

Over the years, Swift has gained a massive and loyal fanbase. But are her fans too loyal? Maybe.

Swift is a pop singer who’s gone from a teenage country phenomenon to one of the biggest pop superstars of all time. She’s won numerous awards for her work. According to the official Grammy website, the official MTV website, and the Spotify website respectively, Swift has won a Grammy for Album of the Year 4 times, won Artist of the Year in both 2023 and 2024, been recognized as Spotify’s top artist of 2024, and many more.

Listening to Swift on Spotify or through their headphones or car or their at-home radio isn’t quite enough for some. They want to see her perform live. They know that seeing her live is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

People spend almost “$5,000 on average,” according to Ticketmaster, to get tickets for a Taylor Swift concert. This doesn’t include hotel stays, travel costs, or anything else. These additional costs can quickly add up, turning a day of a little extra splurging into an unexpected (and potentially devastating) financial burden. There’s nothing wrong with appreciating her music in-person, but making decisions that can have major impacts on your life is a bit too much.

Because of what they’re willing to pay to experience this concert, some say that the financial sacrifice signifies obsession. In a time of inflation that could easily get worse, people are spending large chunks of their money to attend a Taylor Swift concert when they should be more concerned with spending that money on education, food, or saving it for emergencies because you never know when you’ll need it.

A good portion of non-Swifties have gotten annoyed by how much Swifties talk about Taylor. From posting footage (usually long videos) of her concerts to reacting to her music, some have had enough of hearing Swift’s name.

“Swifties can’t go a day without talking about her or listening to her,” Pascal Content, eighth-grade visual major, said. “They’re doing too much, they’re obsessed with her.”

Swift’s fans are quick to call her “their queen” or “their idol.” There’s nothing wrong with admiring and talking about your admiration for an artist’s work. However, it can be taken to the extreme and that’s where it gets unhealthy.

The line between healthy admiration and obsession is blurry, especially in a world where social media allows for around-the-clock access to people’s lives. What starts off as genuine respect can spiral to a point where boundaries are crossed, which can turn simple admiration into a life-consuming fixation. 

“It’s scary, almost. Swifties worship her like she’s an all-powerful god or something,” JP Taranella, eighth grade visual major said.

Many “Swifties,” as her fans are called, aren’t just casual listeners. They’re deeply invested in her music and the personal stories that she tells through it. They’ve found a sense of connection and trust with both Taylor and her music that gets them hooked and keeps them coming back for more. 

“Her songs are very relatable and so good,” Kaylee Alvarez, seventh-grade theater major, said, “Her voice blends into them perfectly.”

Swift has always had a knack for being able to be personable in her music. Fans often praise her vulnerability and originality in both the topics of her songs and the lyrics of them. Additionally, listeners think that her lyrics are witty and clever. Both her genuineness and her wit work together to create a bond with her audience that feels both authentic and refreshing.

“She’s amazing,” Ved Nair, eighth-grade communications major, said. “She’s a lyrical genius.”

Swifties find that her melodic voice translates to her kind-hearted and down-to-earth personality, making her not just an artist they enjoy listening to, but someone that they feel that they can respect as a human being.. 

“She has such a sweet and generous soul that it’s insane, especially on those YouTube shorts of her talking to little kids,” Alvarez said. 

Even with that, people can present themselves as somebody they aren’t through the power of social media, and they do all the time. We aren’t trying to say that Taylor Swift has, but be aware that people can be completely different in front of a camera than they are in real life. 

We don’t think that Swifties are a cult, but we do think that you should be careful of how much you idolize celebrities.

Pearl Phipps, eighth-grade visual major, wears a black and blue Taylor Swift hoodie. This hoodie, along with other merchandise, can be bought at her concert venues or the official Taylor Swift website. Photo by Catherine Ruple