Are you a Swiftie? A Little Monster? A Potterhead or a Twihard? A former (or current?) Directioner? A Chalamaniac?
Everyone’s a fan of something, but entrenching yourself as part of a bona fide fandom is to take it one step further. Or at least, it used to be.
Fan culture has always been around — just look at the Beatles, Elvis, and Star Trek. You could even look as far back as 1870, when devotees of author Jane Austen created their own fandom subculture, calling themselves Janeites.
However, there’s no denying that fan culture has truly come to a head in the last few decades.
Social Media’s Impact on Fan Culture
From the online fan forums of the early 2000s and dedicated Tumblr blogs in the 2010s to Twitter, Reddit, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, fans have embraced the internet and social media to connect over a mutual love for their fandom.
On one hand, it’s a great way to make connections, build community and get even more joy from your passion. It also allowed for a level of direct communication between fans and celebrities that was once impossible.
But in the last few years, there’s been an unmistakable shift. Fan culture has become toxic, negative, and full of heated discourse from people who seem to be there to start fights. While elements of this have always been there, the pervasive nature of platforms like TikTok and X means they’re now more in our faces than ever.
Social media has empowered fans in unprecedented ways. It’s redefined what could be considered appropriate behaviour.
can we talk about stan culture for a minute pic.twitter.com/VuZRaC0zgr
— matt (@mattxiv) September 11, 2024
Interactions Between Fans and Celebrities
Taylor Swift is the perfect example of a celebrity who leveraged the unique fan connection that comes with social media. In the first decade of her career, the pop star was active on Tumblr, following and chatting with fans, even visiting their homes, mailing them her clothes, and buying them Christmas gifts.
Every time she released a new album, she’d hand-pick fans — primarily those she interacted with on Tumblr — and invite them to her house for an intimate listening party called a Secret Session.
Swift treated her fans like besties, building a relationship that went far deeper than the classic pop star-fan dynamic.
Kate Pattison, a fan studies PhD candidate at RMIT, says that this unique fan interaction, along with Swift’s infamous Easter Eggs and candid songwriting, have led some fans to think they really “know” her.
“One of the Swifties that I interviewed for my PhD spoke about how she’s noticed how this has led certain fans to become ‘demanding’, and express disappointment when fan theories don’t come to fruition.”
Since at least 2021, fans on TikTok and X have been predicting the release of Reputation (Taylor’s Version), based on a wide array of increasingly unhinged ‘hints’ they think the singer has dropped. Even mainstream media outlets have got on board.
Her piano malfunctioned on stage? That’s an Easter Egg for Rep TV. She wore a green dress? Easter Egg. A random bunch of dates add up to 13? Easter Egg.
Travis Kelce mentioned he was excited about the London Eras shows. Well, that’s definitive proof that she’d announce the album on stage.
6 capitalized Ss… the letter that looks like a snake. The sound a snake makes… her 6th album. Rep is coming. pic.twitter.com/L8Rs1vOgiO
— Shannon (@ShannoYukoNelso) December 6, 2023
My official reputation tv theory 🐍
1. Taylor unpinned the Speak Now TV announcement exactly 13 days before she announced 1989 TV
2. She just unpinned the 1989 TV announcement. 13 days from today is 12/19. 1+2+1+9 = you guessed it. 13.
3. 13 days from 12/19? New. Year’s. Day.— Sav 🪩 (@SavLovesSwift) December 6, 2023
Swift used to spend hours online chatting with fans, nowadays she rarely interacts with them… if at all. Secret sessions are a thing of the past, she hasn’t been on Tumblr in years, and every comment she leaves on TikTok videos reads like it’s been ghostwritten by her management.
Fan Culture Is Now Under the Microscope
Thanks to social media fan culture is now firmly a part of the mainstream.
TikTok allows people to dabble in fandom. Rather than seeking out posts from fandoms you may want to join, and coaxing your algorithm into serving them to you, TikTok plunges users into the depths of a fandom with just a swipe.
The infamous TikTok also encourages users to jump from audience to audience, opening the gates to fandoms that were once behind digital gates. Though these metaphorical gates were never hard to unlock now users can stroll in and make themselves at home.
“Fan culture is more visible to the general public, including fans’ individual and collective voices (and opinions), prompting discussions we may not have had previously,” says Pattison. “As a Harry Styles fan I interviewed said, ‘the standards have changed drastically’.”
A random TikTok posted by a fan can go viral, be picked up by a tabloid, and become part of the news cycle – even if it’s not newsworthy. That’s how we get headlines breathlessly reporting on Harry Styles riding an e-bike around London, about Brittany Mahomes liking Donald Trump’s Instagram post, Chappell Roan scolding people in the VIP section at her show.
Do Celebrities Deserve What They Get?
There’s an argument to be made that when someone chooses to become famous, they’re opening themselves up to a certain level of public scrutiny.
But let’s be real: just because you’re famous doesn’t mean you should be treated like a circus animal.
Singer Chappell Roan shared a similar sentiment in an Instagram story after being “harassed” by “fans” on TikTok.
@chappellroanDo not assume this is directed at someone or a specific encounter. This is just my side of the story and my feelings.♬ original sound – chappell roan
“I don’t care that this crazy type of behaviour comes along with the job that does not make it okay, that doesn’t make it normal. It doesn’t mean I want it, it doesn’t mean I like it,” she said.
“It’s weird how people think that you know a person just because you see them online or you listen to the art they make. That’s fucking weird. I’m allowed to say no to creepy behaviour,” she said.
“Our understanding of how we should treat and engage with celebrities has also evolved over the years. What may have been normalised in the early 2000s is now being reflected on as we’ve come to understand the detrimental effects it can have.”
It’s hard to find the balance. Pattison points out that digital fan communities have “contributed enormously to the success of artist’s careers”, and most fan interactions are positive and harmless.
However, social media amplifies the “bad” interactions, casting a negative light on online fandoms. And these are the interactions that cut through.
Pattison puts it well: “I think it’s important for us as fans, and more broadly as a society, to regularly reflect and assess our behaviour.”
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