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Fandom is defined in the dictionary as “fans collectively, as of a motion-picture star or a professional game or sport.” Of course, being a fan is not limited to movies or sports. There are video game fans, anime fans, book series fans, boy band fans, girl band fans, and much more. We can make a lot of friends in a fan community, some of which may be a part of our life for a long time.
Being part of a fandom feels like being part of a family for many people. For some people, being a part of a certain fandom is a temporary occurrence in their life, and there are several reasons why they outgrow the fandom experience.
When We Mature Out Of It
The average age of individuals who engage in fandoms are typically under the age of eighteen. Underage fans tend to make fun of adults for being “too old” to engage in fandom culture. In this case, it would make sense for an adult to feel out of place if so many fans surrounding them are outside of their age group. That being said, not every fandom consists of minors.
If a fandom mainly consists of people above the age of eighteen, there should be no problem, right? Not necessarily. Some people simply think they are too mature for fandom culture. The jokes and memes they used to think were funny are no longer funny to them. Perhaps they are no longer interested in the meaningless infighting that happens within fandoms when people get too emotional over the content they love. This leads to the next possible explanation of why people outgrow fandoms.
When The Fandom Is Toxic
Meeting new people can be a wonderful experience. What makes the fandom experience enjoyable is the inside jokes and conversations about shared interests. However, fandoms can be overwhelming, especially when they come together online, due to the fact that there are usually millions of people in a given fandom and it’s inevitable that you will come across people you will not agree with. The worst case scenario is that you might experience bullying from fellow fans. Many people have been severely harassed, sent death threats, or doxxed by fans who disapprove of what they say, even if what they say is trivial.
Why leave a fandom because of the fans? After all, we should be able to separate the fans from the art or the artist. For some people, the fandom is the reason why they become interested in something in the first place. If you do not agree with what most fans of an artist do or say it could be difficult for you to enjoy the artist, and artists rarely criticize fans who say or do bad things in their name.
When We’re No Longer Interested
One day we’re obsessing over your favorite TV series and we’re waiting hours with our friends to see the latest episode of the show, and then the next day we want nothing to do with the series. What happened? We simply lost interest, which is perfectly valid.
So why do people become uninterested? Maybe we didn’t like how your favorite television series ended. Maybe we no longer like the main character of a video game series because you realize how terrible a person they are. Maybe the author of your favorite book series said something deeply offensive and it turned you off from enjoying their content. Whatever the case may be, it’s okay to move on to something else.
When We Stop Idolizing Our Fave
It is natural for fans to grow attached to the people they are a fan of. We get to know who they are, and we might even develop crushes on them. However, what inevitably happens during the fan experience is that we figure out that all of our faves are problematic one way or another. Over the past few years, “cancel culture” has developed.
Cancel culture is a phenomenon where fans call out someone they are a fan of and make the decision to no longer offer monetary and emotional support to them. When we project our feelings onto others, we’re setting expectations for them that are either too high or unrealistic. When they do something problematic, the feeling of disappointment is so great that we might feel like leaving a fan community entirely.
We Never Outgrow The Memories
We will never forget how we felt when we listened to that one song by our favorite artist that made us fall in love with them. We will never forget all the friends we made when we decided to introduce ourselves to other fans of that book series. We may leave a fandom for one or all of the reasons listed, but the one thing that will stay with us forever is the memories we created with the fandom.