It’s hard to explain fandom. It’s more than liking something. We can watch a movie, maybe even love a movie, but there is a difference in many ways between finding a movie interesting and being a “fan” of it. Being a fan traditionally means that we feel very strongly about the product in question. We can “like” chocolate. But to be a fan of it, we have to live chocolate, advocate for it, make it a part of our lives.
We have to become one with the chocolate.
We may not see this so much with snacks, but we do see this with pop culture. We see devoted fans of Star Trek, Star Wars, Harry Potter. We see passionate fans of BTS, Backstreet Boys, and Blackpink. We know that there are – or were – grown adults that were heavily invested in the teenage relationships of fictional characters in Twilight.
This is fandom.
Fandom is something psychological. So let’s talk about it from a psychological perspective. What even is fandom psychologically, and how does it work?
All About Fandom
When we talk about fandom from a psychological perspective, we’re really talking about how the human brain builds connections – not just to people we know in real life, but to ideas, stories, music, fictional characters, and even entire worlds that don’t physically exist.
Fandom feels powerful because it uses the same biological and neurological systems that evolved to help us bond with other humans and find meaning in social experiences.
At the core of fandom is the brain’s reward circuitry, particularly involving a chemical called dopamine. Dopamine is released when we experience pleasure, excitement, or anticipation. When we listen to a song we love, watch a long-awaited movie, or even think about a favorite character, dopamine surges in the brain.
Over time, these repeated bursts of dopamine create a strong emotional imprint, making the object of our fandom feel personally important to us.
Next: Emotional Memory
So now we know that fandom results from a chemical in the brain that makes us feel good. But that’s not what makes fandom really take hold. For that, we’re looking at emotional memory.
When an experience creates a strong feeling in the brain, it is stored in a way that is more vivid and “real” than neutral memories. Think about how people become incredibly invested in sports teams, for example. Typically, you’re invested in a sports team because you grew up in that general market and made real, meaningful memories there.
Even if you move away, you remain a fan of that initial sports team because that’s the one that has the more vivid memories. Even if you start to forget some of those specific memories over time, the logo, the cheers, the players, and more will all provide you with those feelings. That enhances your connection further.
Culture and Parasocial Connections
At this point, we can identify that some things create very strong feelings of joy. But still, that doesn’t entirely explain fandom on its own, especially because there are many things that we enjoy that do not have a fandom.
Another component of fandom comes from the sense of community and belonging.
Fandom itself has a culture, and culture creates a sense of community. Human beings are wired to seek a feeling of belonging. The shared culture/community of fandom, such as through band support, a story universe, and the way that certain types of products have permeated through culture gives one a sense of feeling like they belong and a way to enjoy the beliefs, traditions, and more that one experiences around it.
Fandom also creates a type of parasocial connection – a connection to people that we do not know, but we still feel strongly towards. Sometimes, this is the object of our fandom, like a sports team, single, or character in a movie. Other times, it’s the people around us that are also fans. We may feel closer to people that hold the same beliefs as us.
Either way, these are the same neural pathways that activate when we have close personal friends. Thus, our fandom makes us feel like we have people in our lives that we are deeply connected to – people that give us joy, even without a two way relationship.
Sense of Identity
Lastly, once embraced, fandom becomes a part of our identity. We tend to see ourselves through our fandom. This can have its benefits and weaknesses, but in a general sense, it continues to give us a sense of self that we can carry with us in other ways.
The Positive Side of Fandom
There can be a toxicity to fandom, which we’ll address in a moment, but fandom can also be very fulfilling and valuable in our lives. Fandom can:
- Provide us with an *actual* community. While we spoke earlier about how fandom gives us a sense of being part of a community, shared fandom can create actual community, as people can bond over their similar feelings and beliefs and find comfort in seeing fandom in others.
- Create positive feelings. When life does feel challenging, fandom can create positive feelings that people may otherwise struggle to find. Musical fandom, for example, can be uplifting and a great release when other things in a person’s life feel like a challenge.
- Provide “social support.” Social support refers to feeling like there’s others that are there for you if you need them, whether or not they are actually there. At times, we can feel alone and without social support. Fandom can then help provide some level of social support to get us through these more challenging times.
Loving something enough to be a fan of it can be a very fulfilling experience. For example, fans of anime that dress up in cosplay costumes find incredible joy from looking like their favorite characters and attending events with others that are engaging in these behaviors as well. That’s something that can provide positive feelings for years.
Of course, fandom does have its downsides as well. Fandom can become escapism, where a person tries to live in the fantasy world at the expense of their responsibilities and lives in the real world. The parasocial relationships in fandom can also become too strong – a person can feel like character they’re a fan of loves them back, which in turn can create an emotional overinvestment.
Fandom can also potentially lead to emotional challenges like depression. For example, if a person’s fandom is a TV show, and the show is canceled, that can create a sadness and emptiness that may persist in other ways.
Finally, fandom can lead to gatekeeping and behavior and social conflicts. Because fandom can be an identity, some people find that they’re very vocal or defensive about this identity and how it relates to others.
Fandom and Mental Health
Fandom, in a sense, is neither good nor bad. It can have its benefits for people, and its weaknesses. It depends on how someone experiences that fandom and it affects their relationship with the world around them.
But one thing that is clear about fandom is that it is more than just liking something. There are very reasonable psychological reasons that people become “diehard fans,” and it’s important for everyone to recognize these reasons and understand why people experience them.
If you or someone you love is struggling with mental health issues, or fandom has taken too strong a role in a person’s life, reach out to Flourish Psychology, today.