Stan evolved from a cautionary tale into the default word for active fandom. Stan Twitter — the overlapping fan communities of pop stars, K-pop groups, and franchises — built much of modern internet language (ate, mother, serve traveled through it) and its behaviors: streaming parties, vote brigades, fancams in unrelated threads.
As a verb it is fully generalized: you can stan a person, a show, a skincare product, or a well-organized spreadsheet. For creators, stans are the high-engagement core of an audience — the people who comment first, defend you in discourse, and build the lore. The parasocial intensity that comes with stan culture is its well-documented dark side.