*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 آپ to a fandom.
Fandom is a term that sounds like what is is—it refers to all the combined شائقین of something. It can be a sport, hobby, یا book. It can be very specific, down to one show; یا wide, encompassing all shows in a genre. The شائقین are closely connected سے طرف کی shared interest. Fandoms have been around for some time, but have recently become mainstream. Are آپ 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 آپ step inside the world آپ 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,” کہا Haley, a high school junior, in her مضمون Fangirling Dissected.
Now fandoms can take their interest online. Many websites are built سے طرف کی dedicated شائقین of everything from Harry Potter to My Little Pony. شائقین 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 پرستار and fandom. Only the most devoted شائقین are included in the fandom. Youtube user danisnotonfire explains the difference between a “casual” پرستار and an “internet” پرستار 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 مزید 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 شائقین main reason for being alive.”
Being overcome سے طرف کی emotion when something in the fandom happens یا the person sees یا hears anything related to their fandom (They see a picture, hear the name, etc) is called “feels”.
“Now whenever anything happens, they are overcome سے طرف کی so many emotions [feels] that they can't function and it’s basically destroyed their life. Basically fandoms are like drugs, آپ just need that little bit to get آپ hooked, and then a tiny bit مزید here and there, when BAM, suddenly your life is a train wreck.”
That’s where many disagreed. As Fanpop نام کا صارف x-Yumi-x pointed out, being a پرستار may take up a lot of time, but that’s because it’s all stuff they love doing; stuff they’d rather be doing than other things.
“To be honest, being in a fandom really enriched my life and دیا me a sense of belonging,” کہا Fanpop نام کا صارف 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 Fanpop نام کا صارف 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, شائقین of Doctor Who could فہرست all the actors, talk about who made the best companion, یا argue avidly that David Tennant was the better doctor. Often, members connect سے طرف کی organizing things like conventions, games, یا conferences. پرستار fiction (fictional stories about the object of interest written سے طرف کی fans) and art are also common among fandoms. These are just مزید signs as to how much شائقین love 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 فلمیں to come out for half a year, and they were being shown…near my town. If آپ attended in cosplay [dress up like a character from show, book, یا video game, especially ones from Japanese genre of manga and anime], آپ 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 عملی حکمت 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, آپ wear a football jersey. We talk about last night’s episode, آپ talk about last night’s game. We have پسندیدہ characters, آپ have پسندیدہ players. آپ 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 عملی حکمت 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 Fanpop نام کا صارف 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 عملی حکمت loving friends!”
So, now that آپ know about fandoms, are آپ curious about the most مقبول ones? Here’s a compiled list, not in any specific order. Doctor Who with شائقین called Whovians, Sherlock Holmes with شائقین called Sherlockians, Breaking Bad, عملی حکمت (Japanese animation) with شائقین called Otakus, Hunger Games with شائقین 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 سٹار, ستارہ 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 پرستار base popped up. These early Sherlockians weren’t happy with just reading the books; they wanted to live them. Since gaming systems were a while off, they settled for the اگلے best thing: writing 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 سٹار, ستارہ Trek themed Spockanalia.
So a fandom is close community of people with shared interest. These people can laugh, cry, and make memories together.
“I love 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 لنکس in a community dedicated to one universal thing with inside jokes, art, and موسیقی is pretty awesome. We’re like one big family!”explains Cerudays. It’s a little مزید understandable why they like being a part of that, isn’t it?