Artist bears responsibility for contact with young fans, manager says

Artists are responsible for how they communicate with fans, especially young ones, a veteran manager told Yle. Her comments come after rapper Pyhimys confirmed that he had exchanged messages for years with an underage fan.

Pyhimys, whose real name is Mikko Kuoppala, said in an interview with Suomen Kuvalehti this week that he had been in contact with the fan. A story published by Helsingin Sanomat’s Kuukausiliite in the summer described the exchanges from the perspective of the fan, Saana Airtola, who is now an adult. She said the contact began after she sent the musician a fan letter at age 12. Revealing photos were exchanged after she had reached adulthood.

Manager Carla Ahonius and Heidi Näppi, a development manager at Save the Children, did not comment on the specific case. They discussed adult-child contact in general.

Fans can mistake a message for friendship

Ahonius, who has managed artists including Jare Tiihonen, formerly known as Cheek, and Jenni Vartiainen, said she talks with her clients about how to interact with younger fans online. Artists should think carefully before replying to a fan’s private message with anything more than a like, she said.

Ahonius said some fans have interpreted even a single message from an artist as a sign that they are friends. If the artist then does not reply again, or only wishes the fan a good summer, the fan may threaten to hurt themselves unless the artist responds, she said. A similar impression of personal closeness can arise after a fan gets a photograph, an autograph and a brief chat at a concert.

“It is the artist’s responsibility how communication with a fan takes place,” Ahonius said. She also warned about fake profiles using artists’ names to approach fans and ask for money or personal information. Both adults and children have been deceived, she said, adding that parents should be alert.

Adults are responsible for maintaining boundaries

Näppi said responsibility in communication between an adult and a child always rests with the adult, and that responsibility is even greater for public figures. Adults must not act in ways that blur safe boundaries, she said.

Examples of crossing those boundaries include flirting, sharing an adult’s personal problems with a child or suggesting a meeting, Näppi said. She was referring to adults who are not relatives of the child.

Grooming is often discussed in connection with boundary-crossing communication between adults and children. Näppi said it generally refers to an adult enticing a child into sexual acts. It can begin as seemingly innocent interest from the child’s perspective and develop as the child comes to trust the adult. Such experiences can be traumatic and may cause fear or mood-related symptoms.

Even when contact does not amount to grooming, that does not mean all other communication is acceptable, Näppi said. Unusual conduct directed at a child can damage the child’s trust in other people. “Boundary-crossing communication between an adult and a child is always, at the very least, ethically wrong,” she said.