Fandoms: Are They Good or Bad?

Maria Nina Remedios N. Maroma

Nowadays, you would read or hear young people talk about what fandoms they belong to or which fandom they don’t really like at all. They would discuss in lengths just to express how they love their chosen fandoms or bash endlessly their least favourite ones. Most of these can be seen in their social media posts; some even accompany it with memes and funny pictures.

But what is a fandom, you may ask. According to Urban Dictionary, a fandom is the state or condition of being a fan of someone or something. It could also refer to fans of a particular person or group of persons, a fictional series like in books, television shows or movies and they regard themselves as a community or subculture. In other words, the term fandom used by our millennial learners is just as same as the fans club that we, the older generations, are more familiar with. However, his time young avid fans have taken their admiration for their idols or favorites in a whole new level as brought about by their use of social media.

Some fandoms are actually good, aside from the fact that they can be entertaining even for those who are not really into them. As long as they serve as good examples for our young learner, there’s nothing to worry about. Our learners’ inclination to these fandoms can even tap their sense of creativity and imagination as seen in their fan arts, captions and yes, even in their funny memes. It also gives them a sense of belongingness and identity which is very important in the development of our young people as they meet people their age who share common interests.

But just like anything in life, these fan communities can also have a negative impact on our children most especially if they are not supervised. One of the negative impacts would be when they become overly obsessed to the point that they will use harsh or foul words just to defend their fandoms, this is where the bashers or haters come out. Outsiders would even label them as ‘toxic” because of too much negativity they express. Another one is when fans get themselves too involve with the lives of the person they admire to the point that famous celebrities lose their sense of privacy because of too much meddling done by their fans.

This is where our knowledge and wisdom may help, we must check on our students and talk to them on wasting their energies on things which might get them into trouble or when they do or say things they will eventually regret in the future. There’s totally nothing wrong with admiring people and regard them as role models in life and to associate ourselves with people whom we share same interest with. Being a fanboy or fangirl is very normal as long as it serves its purpose in giving us inspiration and making our time worthwhile.

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The author is Teacher II at Pampanga High School