Teens Undergo Psychiatric Treatment For K-Pop Obsession: ‘This Is A Red Flag’

Eight teenagers from Ahmedabad city in the western Indian state of Gujarat were sent to a psychiatric hospital after their parents noted a striking change in their behavior caused by their obsession with K-pop.

The eight teenagers were brought to Shalby Hospital within a 10-day period after listening to K-pop for eight to 10 hours a day, Ahmedabad Mirror reported.

One of the patients, a 14-year-old student of an international school, got so fixated with K-pop that she would stay inside her room and listen to BTS all day without eating or sleeping, the report said.

At first, her parents ignored her obsession with K-pop until she began stealing money to buy expensive clothes similar to those worn by BTS members. The girl had also planned to run away to South Korea to marry one of the Bangtan Boys.

“In the past 10 days, we received eight cases and this is a red flag that should not be ignored. Parents need to keep a watch on their children. Most patients are in the 13 to 22 age group,” said Dr. Kalrav Mistry, Head of the Department of Psychiatry clinic and de-addiction center at Shalby Hospital.

According to Mistry, cases of obsession over BTS have been increasing in the past three to four months

“The youngsters are blindly following BTS, adopting their rockstar lifestyle, expensive clothes and all. And to meet these expenses they are resorting to stealing and drugs. By the time parents realize something is wrong, the obsession has reached a different level,” Dr. Mistry warned.

The report also mentioned the case of another girl from the same city who attempted to take her own life after her parents took her to a counselor to “get rid of her BTS obsession.”

Dr. Mistry said the patients are exhibiting symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder as the teens “blindly try to ape the stars and begin to associate with the band members’ life so dangerously that they think of it as their life story.”

While some fans turn delusional and dream of marrying their idols, others adopt a dangerous approach as they turn into the so-called “sasaeng” fan or the obsessive fan who would go as far as committing crimes just to get the attention of their idols.

These crimes include fans breaking into the homes of their idols while others wait for the stars in front of their homes. Others resort to posting violent threats against the stars on their social media pages.