Opinion: Even the Taylor Swift fans among us are ready for a break

Opinion by Lynda Gorov

(CNN) — It’s going on two entire hours since Taylor Swift showed up in any of my social media feeds. Not a single mention of her music, her man or her making the far-right mad about … well, I’m not sure.

I am sure, however, that it’s a break many of us want and even need from the pop sensation who, post-Grammys and post-Super Bowl, is still mid-world tour. If there’s such a thing as too much Taylor Swift, America may be reaching a saturation point with America’s sweetheart.

I say this as a mom whose daughter is exactly the right age to have been an original Swiftie. The bop “You Belong with Me” still reverberates in my brain (“She wears short skirts / I wear T-shirts.”)

We watched her music videos, sang along to her CDs (yes, CDs) in the car and awaited each new release. She was a major part of our elementary school soundtrack.

And that was before Swift became a billionaire businesswoman with a sold-out world tour and football hero boyfriend, never mind the focus of right-wing conspiracy theories regarding the presidential race. If she was a musical presence in our lives a decade-plus ago, she is internationally ubiquitous now, unavoidable to anyone online or off. The woman is everywhere, including the Jumbotron. She’s huge in Brazil, China, the Philippines, New Zealand.

As a sorta fan who feels slightly maternal toward Swift, I worry she’s not doing herself — or us — any favors at this point. Oversaturation isn’t good for anyone, even the in-love, in-demand, ever-adorable Swift. Plus, she just announced a new record for release in April. “The Tortured Poets Department” will be her 15th album altogether, and eighth in five years. Taylor Swift is 34.

Now I’m not putting Swift down here, so don’t come at me, Snake Fam. It’s impossible not to admire her business acumen and her charitable instincts, be it in the form of huge bonuses for her tour truck drivers or quiet donations to struggling food banks in the cities she plays in. Then, there’s the baller move of reworking and recording her own music after someone else acquired rights to the songs. Fans bought in all over again.

Those Tay-or-die fans don’t just love her for it; they flat-out obsess, searching for hidden meanings that they call “Easter eggs” in her lyrics, videos and photographs. I swear I do not know how I know that. Meanwhile, haters gonna hate.

As for me, I land somewhere in the middle: I like some of her music, haven’t bought any of it in years, considered buying tickets to the Eras Tour, decided to spend the hundreds of dollars elsewhere. I admire her good acts, don’t care much for gossip about the rest of it and could probably stand a Taylor timeout.

I can’t be the only one. For starters, there’s my daughter, who is now more a nostalgic observer than a lifelong fan and managed not to roll her eyes too hard when I asked for her opinion on Swift’s current popularity.

Of course, you can be a fan of the person and not the music, or vice versa, but as a woman who wants other women to succeed, I’m rooting for Swift. Which is why I want her to go away for a while.

I adore the Swift who gets on her feet and lip syncs at awards shows when other musicians take the stage. I just don’t need the camera constantly on her.

That’s on the media, not her. Maybe TV and news outlets could try letting the woman live her best life without constantly shilling her love life, friendships and fashion choices. Yes, Swift sells. Super Bowl LVIII smashed American TV viewing records. But, no, we don’t need daily coverage or detailed analysis every time the new guy puts his arm around her. Let the cute couple make out in peace.

Uh oh.

Just rechecked X/Twitter; she’s already back, this time holding up a drink, dancing and singing along to, you guessed it, “You Belong With Me,” while boyfriend Travis Kelce hangs out nearby. Turns out that Taylor’s a cheer captain after all in what would be considered, in any other world, a highly implausible but watchable rom-com. Two geeks with special talents are both in love with love, and each other. He’s famous. She’s super famous — and he’s OK with that. I’d go see it. They could call this one “The Friendship Bracelet.”

But since the truth is, in fact, stranger than fiction, I feel I’m almost forced to watch their romance play out in real time. Yes, I’m happy for them, but no, I don’t need the details. Just let me know if he asks, if she says yes and what kind of food they serve at the wedding. Other than that: overkill.

There’s real merit in the idea of leaving us wanting more rather than less. Worn out welcomes and all that. Swift has been at this more than half her life. No doubt she’s got a lot of music left in her. Sure, it’s been sweet watching her celebrate having a man who isn’t overwhelmed by her celebrity or asking her to dim her own light for his sake.

And it’s been striking to watch her take on the world, even releasing a concert movie in the midst of it all. On her own terms, natch. But Swift also knows something of yearning for someone who’s gone away. After all, half her songs are about it. Some of us could use a lyrical interlude like that right now.

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