She Has a Crush on YouTube Personality

Dear Papabear,

A while back, about 2013, I started to really get into a YouTuber, and his name is Markiplier. My ma and I are going to Comic-Con 2016, and the true reason that I only want to go there is because of my senp... I mean, because of Mark. I can't shut the heck up about it and my ma is really annoyed. I'm also really hyping up this event even though I know I shouldn't and I'm gonna be disappointed when everything isn't gonna plan out in my head. So how do I stop myself from hyping up this event? And how do I stop thinking that Mark and I could be together?

With lots of love,
Pandaco (age 13, Colorado)

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Hi, Pandaco,

It used to be that this sort of fan crush only happened with young people and rock musicians (e.g., the throngs of young girls chasing after The Beatles, but you’re too young to recall that). Anyway, it’s interesting that these days people with popular blogs and YouTube channels are getting large fan bases.

For the benefit of any of my readers seeing this letter who don’t know, Markiplier is the pseudonym for Mark Fischbach, a 26-year-old videogame commentator based in Los Angeles (https://www.youtube.com/user/markiplierGAME/), who is evidently becoming quite popular.

So, Pandaco, what you have here is a crush on a media personality. He’s twice your age and—let’s be realistic—the two of you are not likely to become boy- and girlfriend. You need to calm down and get a little perspective here.

How to gain perspective:

1. Realize that the guy you see on your computer is probably not exactly who he is in person. What do you really know about him other than his YouTube personality?
2. Look at this logically: he’s twice your age, you live in Colorado, he lives in California. There’s no way this would work as a relationship.
3. Sometimes we get excited about someone because they are new and fresh. Here’s a strategy: watch his videos constantly for hour on end until they become boring and repetitive, then see if you still feel the same way.
4. If that doesn’t work, try the opposite tactic: Stop watching his stuff altogether and remove any reminders of him from your daily life. Fill the gap in your life by spending time with friends and family and hobbies or school work.

It’s fine to be a fan and like someone, even cheer them on, write them fan mail, and wish them well. Go ahead and go see him at Comic-Con, get his autograph, say “Hi! I enjoy your work!” and leave it at that. Your getting all hyped up about an interesting guy who is becoming a bit famous is perfectly natural. As long as you stay real about it, you’ll be fine. Oh, and spare your mom from talking about him. Talk about it with your friends to get it out of your system.

Hugs,

Papabear