Apink Jeong Eunji announces she will discontinue using Bubble

[em-cavey.livejournal.com]

On December 2nd, Apink member and actress Jeong Eunji announced on the Dear U Bubble private messaging app, commonly known as Bubble, that she would stop using the app after the end of the current month due to her concerns about how the service was affecting her relationship with fans and her mental health.

Eunji stated, “I’ve been debating a lot about Bubble. I’ve been using it a lot because I thought it would be an easy way to connect with Pandas, but I’ve come to feel like despite my best intentions, there are some people who are so wrapped up in it that they can’t function normally.”

She also mentioned her experiences with stalking, saying that, “some people cross the lines that most fans respect and come to certain locations to try to find me." She ended by saying, “I’ve been dealing with a lot of unexpected stress due to certain incidents so I’ve decided I will probably stop using Bubble at the end of December.”


Sources: Sports Chosun

Good for her, especially given that she’s been dealing with a stalker
Hopefully more idols will be able to opt out of these services if that’s what they want

Comments

[broadcities.livejournal.com]

good for her. completely agree with you op.

[reader17.livejournal.com]

I have to agree if the service is hurting more then helping she should stop, and I don't see any issues especially if she has a stalker. Not everyone needs the added stress of these social media platforms. It would be nice if everyone was able to use these platforms for what they were intended to be nice and interact with their fans, but that doesn't always be they case there shouldn't be any stalking, harassing, being negative, nasty etc!

[921227.livejournal.com]

Good for her!! Honestly, idols as a whole should step back from the constant fan centered social media

[daynr.livejournal.com]

She is one of the idols I just unjustifiably 💙 and I really wish she did more stuff still but I'm happy to hear she's actually stopping things that don't help her.
(Sorry for run-on I'm tired.)

[em-cavey.livejournal.com]

Pretty much mte (and I never met a sentence I couldn’t turn into a run-on lol)
I like her a lot even if I’m not a fan per se and also I feel a little sympathy for her bc it seems like personality-wise she’s not a great fit for celebrity/idol life and that’s probably pretty tough

She just wrapped up a streaming-service drama that did well though, I can see her focusing more on acting in the future and getting some distance from the more intense aspects of being an idol

[myungung.livejournal.com]

off topic but lol @ your proper use of a run-on sentence in line with the thread

[xoxkenzxox.livejournal.com]

I kinda like that she is blaming "fans" for her quitting to be be honest.
there are some people who are so wrapped up in it that they can’t function normally
CALL OUT THE CREEPS!

[chiives.livejournal.com]

lol yes it's not even subtle, girl is really saying "i'm leaving because some of you are just plain delusional" bless her.

[xoxkenzxox.livejournal.com]

YES! it reminds me of school where a few kids in class are bad and the whole class gets punished. But the punishment is totally appropriate and she shouldn't have to put up with those individuals.

Does Bubble not have like...a screening process for messages going to idols?

[chiives.livejournal.com]

iirc there was a thing on twt where a member of sf9 (or was it astro? can't quite remember rn) called out several fans on bubble who called him fat/a glutton when he posted pictures of himself eating, so idt there's any screening going on there at all.

[xoxkenzxox.livejournal.com]

that is so ridiculous....
What is with people? Reminds me of that video where an idol goes to a bus station and sees a girl typing up a hate comment (something like 'go die' or something) about him. He asks her about it and she gets all embarrassed and asks for his autograph.

I mean. It's everywhere not just kpop. Not that he's amazing but John Mayer had a similar situation recently where someone was messaging him to go die and to respond to her. When he did, she apologized and said it was a dare from her friend. Like...in what world is any of that ok?

*deep breath*

Save the hate for the ACTUAL criminals in entertainment.

[chiives.livejournal.com]

what's funny is that bubble is a subscription service and fans have to pay a monthly fee to access their faves' pages!! paying a monthly fee to send hate to an idol... some people really need perspective lmao. but also paying to get access to an artist causes people to feel entitled to an artist, even more so than albums/concerts, since bubble encourages parasocial relationships to an alarming degree. honestly i think ALL idols should just ditch bubble altogether but for agencies it's just another way to get money, so....

[lightframes.livejournal.com]

I agree, it breeds entitlement. People were doing the same thing to Joy, saying they paid for the service so she has to respond. "I pay for this service, I bought 100 copies of your album for this fan call, now do your part." They stopped seeing them as humans a long time ago.

[em-cavey.livejournal.com]

I love it, way more idols need to go ahead and call out their shitty ”fans” imo

[xoxkenzxox.livejournal.com]

agreed.

[babyjenkski.livejournal.com]

We only have a few idols like this (Changsub, Eunkwang and Yoseob are the first ones who comes to mind).

[suggestivepeach.livejournal.com]

This decision is v valid

[bloodtaki2.livejournal.com]

You tell them!

[volume1995.livejournal.com]

damn op you scared me with that title

but good for her!

[takemydream.livejournal.com]

I'm glad she could make this decision and elaborate on her reasons.

I get that kpop idols are supposed to interact with fans a lot (and with the age of social media now there are many avenues for that online) and to promote this "parasocial" relationship or whatever, but after leaving most social media this spring and feeling much better as a result, I wonder if all the exposure online and the fact that anything can drop at any time is unhealthy, for idols or fans... idk I didn't phrase that well, but for a time I too spent too much time online everyday and worried about missing a day due to news about my faves, and this was before the V app and all this other stuff. It's freeing to not care lol I used to feel tied to the internet bc of my kpop obsession...

It's not bad to take a step back, and idols shouldn't have to be sharing constantly. They should be able to tune out, too.