*A WARM SHOUT OUT TO THOSE WHO HELPED as I know I didn't fit in all your stuff in cuz i was trying to get as many people as possible, AND THOSE THAT DIDN'T MAKE IT IN:TARDIS-Granger

The screaming crowds. The hours spent online, spreading pictures and information. All these people coming together. Let me introduce あなた to a fandom.
Fandom is a term that sounds like what is is—it refers to all the combined ファン of something. It can be a sport, hobby, または book. It can be very specific, down to one show; または wide, encompassing all shows in a genre. The ファン are closely connected によって shared interest. Fandoms have been around for some time, but have recently become mainstream. Are あなた ready to enter their world?
“People sometimes look at fandoms from the outside and wonder why [they] spend so much time on these people they don't know personally, but once あなた step inside the world あなた can start to understand it...fandoms are just one of the many ways that we gain and spread ideas, information and wisdom from all over the world,” 発言しました Haley, a high school junior, in her 記事 Fangirling Dissected.
Now fandoms can take their interest online. Many websites are built によって dedicated ファン of everything from Harry Potter to My Little Pony. ファン from all over can collect information, have conversations, post original artwork and stories, and write on forums. It’s easy for every member of the fandom around the world to connect, even if they never meet in real life.
There’s a difference between ファン and fandom. Only the most devoted ファン are included in the fandom. YouTube user danisnotonfire explains the difference between a “casual” ファン and an “internet” ファン that would be in a fandom.
“Let me explain: firstly the person discovers and enjoys the thing. Then the person goes onto the internet and has fun learning もっと見る about it and people who feel the same way. The person then suddenly becomes aware of their [the object of interest] overwhelming perfection and it becomes the ファン main reason for being alive.”
Being overcome によって emotion when something in the fandom happens または the person sees または hears anything related to their fandom (They see a picture, hear the name, etc) is called “feels”.
“Now whenever anything happens, they are overcome によって so many emotions [feels] that they can't function and it’s basically destroyed their life. Basically fandoms are like drugs, あなた just need that little bit to get あなた hooked, and then a tiny bit もっと見る here and there, when BAM, suddenly your life is a train wreck.”
That’s where many disagreed. As ファンポップ ユーザー名 x-Yumi-x pointed out, being a ファン may take up a lot of time, but that’s because it’s all stuff they 愛 doing; stuff they’d rather be doing than other things.
“To be honest, being in a fandom really enriched my life and 与えられた me a sense of belonging,” 発言しました ファンポップ ユーザー名 Cerudays.
“Being in a fandom has brought a lot of good times into my life that I wouldn't have had otherwise. I honestly don’t know what I’d be doing if it weren’t for this,” added ファンポップ ユーザー名 Panisepic.
Members of a fandom tend to be very interested in all of the details of their object of interest. They will absorb any accessible knowledge about it, and it often makes them very educated about it. For example, ファン of Doctor Who could 一覧 all the actors, talk about who made the best companion, または argue avidly that David Tennant was the better doctor. Often, members connect によって organizing things like conventions, games, または conferences. ファン fiction (fictional stories about the object of interest written によって fans) and art are also common among fandoms. These are just もっと見る signs as to how much ファン 愛 their hobbies.
One example is a story of how much one girl wanted to get a poster and see a new movie. “I had been waiting for the new 映画 to come out for half a year, and they were being shown…near my town. If あなた attended in cosplay [dress up like a character from show, book, または video game, especially ones from Japanese genre of マンガ and anime], あなた could get a free poster— and I really, really wanted a poster! I went with a friend, but there were maybe 40 people also in costume there, and the theater wasn’t open yet! So all 40 something of us stood outside in cold weather wearing ridiculous costumes, watching as people stared when they drove by. It was hilarious!” exclaimed Cerudays, telling of a story she happily remembers. “I met a lot of cool people, got the poster I wanted, and enjoyed watching an アニメ movie in a theater full of people who shared my interest. It was so cool!”
Many people can misunderstand these fans. Panisepic thinks the biggest challenge would definitely be other people’s view of fandoms, and having the reputation of being nerds.
“I know there’s a lot of stereotyping that goes on...I really think we would prove them wrong. We wear shirts with characters on them, あなた wear a football jersey. We talk about last night’s episode, あなた talk about last night’s game. We have お気に入り characters, あなた have お気に入り players. あなた think it’s weird we listen to something in another language we can’t understand, all your plays, scores, player names, and teams are just as must gibberish to me as アニメ is to you.”
Sometimes the stereotyping of fandoms goes beyond just points of views. Sometimes people take it as far as bullying.
This was the case with ファンポップ ユーザー名 Animegurl235.
“The only thing I basically have an interest in is anime… I was actually depressed for a period of time in middle school for being bullied so much for loving anime. I’m totally fine now though, and have made アニメ loving friends!”
So, now that あなた know about fandoms, are あなた curious about the most 人気 ones? Here’s a compiled list, not in any specific order. Doctor Who with ファン called Whovians, Sherlock Holmes with ファン called Sherlockians, Breaking Bad, アニメ (Japanese animation) with ファン called Otakus, Hunger Games with ファン called Tributes, Game of Thrones, and Supernatural.
Now, when most people think of the beginning of fandoms, they think of Spock. But it came even before 星, つ星 Trek. In 1900’s, it was used to describe sports fans. The earliest known record of fandom is actually when Arthur Conan Doyle began his stories of mystery novels about Sherlock Holmes when a passionate ファン base popped up. These early Sherlockians weren’t happy with just 読書 the books; they wanted to live them. Since gaming systems were a while off, they settled for the 次 best thing: 書く stories. Except they didn't use the term fanfiction, they called them “parodies” and “pastiches”. “Fanfiction” didn't get used until the mid 60’s around the publication of the earliest fanfiction journal, the 星, つ星 Trek themed Spockanalia.
So a fandom is close community of people with shared interest. These people can laugh, cry, and make memories together.
“I 愛 knowing that there are people all across the world that shares your interests! Even if they live on the other side of the ocean, even if they don't speak your language...just knowing that thousands of people are リンク in a community dedicated to one universal thing with inside jokes, art, and 音楽 is pretty awesome. We’re like one big family!”explains Cerudays. It’s a little もっと見る understandable why they like being a part of that, isn’t it?