What Kind of Fan are You?
Everyone in this world is a fan of something. Whether you’re a fan of a team, show or music artist, there is likely something that you support and care for enough to be proud of it. The pride for an individual or group may come off in different ways, such as wearing their merchandise or regularly watching/listening to the newest arrivals, but a new kind of fan has emerged: the digital fan which comes as a part of a whole fandom that exercises their support for something together.
Fans have not always been the way they are now. They have evolved in many ways and have divided into different types of fans, including superfans, who have an obsession with the idol, and stans, who have an even stronger perceived connection to the idol, many times in a toxic way (Fandom went mainstream…). As a collective group, fans have evolved tremendously from passive consumers of a “product,” to a connected group of people that consistently engage with the idol. Part of what makes for the difference between traditional fans and fandoms is the medium in which the fans are engaging with the person or group in. Traditionally, fans would merely watch a TV show or listen to the radio and consider themself fans, but with the rise of the internet came a new kind of way for fans to connect and communicate, thus enabling fandoms of people who can actively engage with people in their community.
This idea of fans actively engaging with content of a group they support is extremely important to the basis of digital fandoms and is a relatively new concept. This type of interaction as a fan is called participatory culture, which “suggests that rather than being ‘cultural dupes, social misfits, and mindless consumers,’ media fans can be understood as ‘active producers and manipulators of meaning” (Fandom and Participatory Culture). This is because in the current times fans can easily provide their input online which can even go as far as to be taken into consideration by the media producers. Participatory culture is defined by a few key elements that make it different from passive consumerism, including members easily being able to engage and create, believing contributions matter, and feeling connected to one another. This new way of being a fan is only possible because of the way the internet operates.
Modern-day digital fandoms are also unique because they seem to have a folk culture about them. Folk culture dates back centuries and revolves around the idea of culture coming from grassroots creativity. However, in the twentieth century with the rise of large entertainment companies, folk culture was pushed underground with the average consumer having no control over production. The rise of social media has changed this because it allows the average fans to engage and create from the grassroots level, which is even impacting media companies. Therefore, fandoms can be seen as a type of neo-folk culture.
One example of an early internet fandom is Directioners, or the official name for the collective group of One Direction fans. Despite One Direction no longer being an active band, they once held extreme power and part of it was due to the online fandom they had gained. In the early days of social media, there were many fan accounts dedicated just to the band or members of the band. More and more self-proclaimed Directioners arised as the years went on and people began to create things like fan-fiction and edits. Despite the band being broken up, to this day the fandom remains relatively strong, with many Directioners pushing for the band to get back together.
I myself was a “Directioner” in my young adulthood, learning about their personal lives online, following fan accounts, and hoping to one day go to a concert. While I am no longer a part of the fandom, I understand the appeal since I was once a part of it. At my current age, I would consider myself a fan of things like the Patriots and The Bachelor, but I wouldn’t consider myself a super-fan or stan of anyone as I don’t avidly keep up with many celebrities or TV shows. For the vast majority of people, however, they have found a niche online, whether it be K-Pop or Star Wars or the millions of other fandoms. The degree of fandom varies for person to person, so I encourage you to think to yourself: what kind of fan are you?
