The FanFair is a place for you to find and connect with people who love the things you love. It's a place to immerse yourself in all of your favorite fandoms, discover lesser-known fanfiction writers, and geek out with your fellow Wattpadders. We'll...
Without even realizing it, humans are prone to immersing themselves in fandom on a regular basis. By preferring Adidas over Nike or Puma or any other sportswear brand, you've essentially allowed yourself a lifetime membership to the Adidas fandom. (This is actually a thing; I took a media literacy class in college on it.)
People do it with everything. What kind of laundry soap do you buy? Tide? Gain? Whatever brand you prefer, it's probably the only brand you'll catch yourself purchasing, and you do it subconsciously most of the time. Garbage bags (Hefty versus Glad), soda (Coke versus Pepsi), lip balm (Chaptstick versus Burt's Bees versus Blistex), etc., are all more examples. You are in more fandoms than you even realize.
So how does someone cope with that? It's hard enough being conscious of joining a fandom, and now you've discovered that your entire life is populated with different fandoms that you've been totally unaware of. That's a lot to deal with. But fear not, friends, for I'm about to let you in on my secret to coping with fandom.
Ready? Prepare yourselves, because this is about to blow your mind. Serious life hack heading your way. To cope with fandom, you:
Don't. You succumb to it.
Let's be real here; did you honestly expect anything different? Whether you want to be or not, for the rest of your life you will be involved with more fandoms than you can count – some conscious decisions, some not. And you're going to have to just accept it.
Imagine a world where there wasn't fandom. Do that right now. Close your eyes. (I can see you, and you haven't closed your eyes, and I don't know why you aren't listening to me; didn't your mother ever teach you manners?) Imagine not tuning into The 100 or The Walking Dead every week for a new episode or feeling dead inside if you miss said weekly new episode. Imagine not fighting every fibre of your being from downloading One Direction's newest album during the Annual November Leak so that you can properly purchase the album and support your boys when it is officially released. Imagine having no desire to write fanfic. At all.
What a wild world that would be. You can open your eyes now. Can you even imagine any of that? Because I can't. And on a less painful note, imagine not having a preference between Adidas and Nike (and Puma and Under Armour and whatever other sportswear brand there is). Imagine grabbing whichever box of garbage bags you see first rather than searching for your favorite brand. Imagine not caring about whether you get Puffs or Kleenex.
Not as bad as the first AU I made you imagine, but still a pretty wild world that would be.
I began my first year of college as an English major, and I ended it with a minor in media studies. Remember that class I told you I took a few paragraphs up? That class – Media Literacy – allowed me to not only think outside the box when it came to the largest fandom I'm involved in (One Direction), but also in the box, under the box, behind the box, and on top of the box. My final paper was legitimately written about heteronormativity and Larry Stylinson. Want to know why? Because every single thing I learned in that class could be related back to my favorite band. Marketing strategies? I could pull up the Sony leaks where they discuss how each boy would be marketed for their This Is Us film. News outlets brainwash you into thinking what they want you to think? Harry Styles: the womanizer; Louis Tomlinson: the partier.
Because of my involvement in the One Direction fandom, I was able to form a deeper connection with something that I might have never realized I was interested in otherwise. And being involved in this fandom will continue to serve me well, because I am constantly keeping up with the latest news and scandals and drama. My interest in the politics of the media will continue to be fed by One Direction's existence, and that's honestly the coolest thing ever.
Unfortunately, if you were hoping to find the 5 Steps to Coping with Fandom or something similar when you decided to read this article, I'm afraid I might've let you down. No matter how hard you try, you will never be able to actually cope with fandom; all you can do is accept that it will forever be a part of you and embrace it. Purchase the brands you prefer and don't have second thoughts about it! Watch your favorite TV show obsessively, write fanfic about it, and don't question it for a second! Support your favorite band/artist shamelessly, and if they make you happy, don't let anybody make you feel stupid for loving them!
Fandom is probably one of the greatest things to happen to humans, and if you thought for a second that maybe there was some kind of cure for it, hopefully you're no longer looking for it. Because I, for one, would never want to live in a world with no fandom.
Would you?
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