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People’s obsession with influencers can be traced back to our enduring fascination with celebrity culture in general In a previous interview with Bored Panda, David Schmid, an Associate Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of English at the University at Buffalo, explained that our fascination can be partly explained by the fact that our culture teaches us, both implicitly and explicitly, that celebrities are role models and we should strive to be like them.

Prof. Schmid, who’s also the author of "Natural Born Celebrities: Serial Killers in American Culture," argued that celebrities seem to be “more attractive and successful than us, not to mention a lot wealthier, and so we should want to be like them.”

Interestingly, we also realize that the opposite is true about celebrities since they appear to be ordinary people. “Especially when they mess up, go through a divorce, have problems with drink and drugs, etc.,” Prof. Schmid explained. “So part of our fascination with them derives from this contradiction: they are both exceptional and ordinary,” he said.

Moreover, “The internet fosters a sense of intimacy with celebrities that we find very appealing; we feel like we share in their everyday lives and feel part of a community of people who also follow celebrities.”

“This sharing and community are powerfully attractive forces in a culture where anxiety and isolation impact so many people,” Schmid told us previously. In fact, he argued, celebrities compensate for the unsatisfactory aspects of our own lives.

For those who’re wondering if it’s possible to become too invested in the lives of famous people, in his opinion, Prof. Schmid confirmed that’s possible.

On the other hand, if we become too invested in the lives of celebrities, we may end up lost in a toxic fandom. “Everyone's familiar with the consequences of toxic fandom, including cyberbullying and even turning on your favorite celebrity when they disappoint or 'betray' you in some way,” Prof. Schmid said.

Moreover, he explained, “our expectations of celebrities become unrealistic, and when that happens we can easily cross over from reality to fantasy, with all kinds of potential negative consequences.”