CAPSLOCK DOES NOT FULLY EXPRESS MY FANGIRLY JOY.

The concept of the fangirl/ groupie /teeniebopper is one which extends back into the mid 20th century. Yet the hopeless devotion has not ebbed over the decades. From the Beatles to the Bee Gees, the Jackson 5 to the Jonas Brothers, musical act after musical act has been followed by screaming, crying fans. They bring a whole new meaning to 'crazy in love'.

You only have to take a loot at Twitter, Facebook and MySpace to realise the degree to which the infatuation has deepened; the desire for a personal connection with an idol has increased. Fans scream with delight (in capitals) because their idol has tweeted them. Thousands upon thousands of comments are left on pages and under pictures as fans cling to the hope that their star will realise they exist.

The wrath of the fan is vicious; don't dare insult their idol for fear of a severe blasting online. One need only take for example the comments made by fans with regard to the latest change of sound by pop foursome McFly. Fans lashed out at their idols for changing the sound that has been the 'soundtrack to my life' whilst others accused these unhappy fans of being 'false supporters'. Civil war seemed to be the order of business amongst the self labelled 'galaxy defenders' and 'party girls'.



Of course the reason I know this is that I was once indeed one of those fans. Between the ages of 12 and 16 I was hopelessly devoted to both Busted and McFly. They provided me with an escape from an adolescence that I was struggling through. However my obsession died down as my self-confidence rose; I stopped following them deliriously when I got a life so to speak. It's actually terrifying to read the comments of people who never grew out of it, or a new generation who are falling into the same habits. Most of the girls I met during this period of my life have moved on as I have. We have fond memories, but we're slightly embarrassed at the degree to which we were engrossed in the phenomenon.

However there is one degree to which we never did take our obsession; we didn't create fan groups for the relatives and girlfriends of our idols. Thousands of fans flock to the twitter and facebook accounts of their idols' siblings and other halves in the hope that by connecting with someone close to their idol, they can be one step closer to their ultimate goal. It's frightening stuff really; I often wonder what it must be like for those who find their accounts and in boxes flooded with messages from strangers, based merely on the fact that they have a connection to a certain individual.

I may have been obsessed, but at least I never felt my life would suck without them.