mass hysteria is a harmless stage in adolescent development

Inside the Brains of Bieber Fans:

What’s Behind Bieber Fever? Neuroscience Offers Explanation — a ‘Safe’ Infatuation

Excerpt:
Compared with past outbreaks of fan mania, scientists now have a better understanding of why teens—girls in particular—become so passionate about some musicians, and the recording industry is far more adept at exploiting the phenomenon. Parents of star-struck “Bieliebers”—as his fans are sometimes known—can be assured, experts say, that what looks like mass hysteria is a harmless stage in adolescent development. Long before the Beatles, Elvis and Frank Sinatra, frenzied female fans threw their clothing at 19th century pianist and composer Franz Liszt and fought over locks of his hair, say music historians.
Hearing familiar, favorite music stimulates the release of dopamine, the neurotransmitter involved in pleasure and addiction, providing the same rush as eating chocolate or that winning does for a compulsive gambler, says neuroscientist Daniel Levitin, who was able to observe the process using fMRI scans in his lab at McGill University in Montreal.
Dr. Levitin’s research also showed that musical tastes formed in the teen years become part of the brain’s internal wiring, as that is the time when some neural pathways are solidifying and others are being pruned away. That’s why  adults tend to be nostalgic for the music from their teenage years.
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