BY REQUEST: ARMYS, FANDOM TRAUMA, AND TIPS FOR HEALING

I've been thinking about this (much requested) thread for weeks now. Since the early days of my CC. I couldn't help but notice that a growing amount of people reaching out to me seemed to be VERY anxious, upset, and angry.

I don't know if it's because I emotionally adopted BTS fangirling at a much later time than some people or just the way I look at and process situations, but it seemed quite a few fans seemed to be addressing past traumas and situations and injustices as if they were current.

A few of us have joked about other fandoms addressing BTS and its fans as if this were still 2015 at the latest. Claiming that BTS isn't well known, that they're not loved by the public, and that their sales and success are all media play and manipulation by Big Hit.

However, I also noted that a reverse of this behavior was present within the ARMY fandom. People seem to be clinging to fears and anxious beliefs that didn't mirror a present-day reality.

It all pointed to a kind of "fandom trauma."

FANDOM TRAUMA ORIGIN STORY

Did you know that the word "trauma" comes from an old Greek word for "wound?" I didn't either until I started researching for this thread, but it's a perfect word for describing the sense of dealing with emotionally wounded people.

So if there are wounded ARMYs walking around, where did this all come from?

Well, based on what I can tell, a series of negative interactions and experiences with the rest of the Kpop community combined with a largely negative reality associated with the Kpop idol culture.

What I'm about to reference isn't news for a lot of older ARMY, but for newer ARMYs who are wondering about all the battle scars and poor fandom relationships and anxiety, this is going to be new. I'll sum up with the most relevant sources of fandom trauma.

#1 - Psychological abuse by larger fandoms and unable to fight back
After looking up behaviors commonly found among emotional abusers, I do think that certain things acted out towards ARMYs do qualify:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/traversing-the-inner-terrain/201609/when-is-it-emotional-abuse

I particularly highlighted the signs of abusive behaviors displayed in this example of an emotionally abusive relationship.

And here are actual behaviors associated with psychological abuse. Again, I'm emphasizing the signs relevant to my observations:

Basically, there was a CONCENTRATED EFFORT by MULTIPLE FANDOMS to cause as much EMOTIONAL DAMAGE to ARMYs as possible in EVERY POSSIBLE WAY. Some fandoms were more responsible than others, but this period of emotionally abusive behavior caused a lot of damage and hurt.

What made it so bad was there was a (rather successful) attempt to smear the reputation of ARMYs to the point where we're a fandom apart from an entire Kpop community. That is effectively emotional and psychological isolation.

As these efforts are ongoing, the abuse is active,

And when ARMYs call out this behavior or seek some type of support, they're made to feel as if they are crazy or lying (aka they are gaslighted).

Though ARMY grew as a fandom, ushering in fans with no such memories, the ones who DO remember are displaying symptoms of fandom trauma due to an extended period of psychological abuse that others (or even they themselves don't really understand).

#2 - Began supporting BTS when they were a "nugu Kpop group" in an industry with a HIGH turnover rate = fear fo inevitable failure and loss

The K-idol industry chews up a lot of people's careers and spits them out. You're considered lucky if your group makes it for more than five years. Idol fans typically expect that their group will debut, peak, decline, and disband (either officially or unofficially.)

In the case of bgs, it's treated like a race against the clock. They only have x amount of time to get as famous as possible before members go into the military and their idol careers effectively decline and end.

Despite the fact that BTS is currently a global artist rather than a Kpop group limited to Korean promotions, a number of fans keep asking about military service. They can't seem to fathom the idea that in the West....you can go away for a decade and have fans buy up your album.

It's also worth noting that these fans don't seem to understand that everything BTS manages to achieve prior to their military career won't be forgotten or erased by the Korean gp or their international fans. ARMY is still very much a community.

Nevertheless, there's this lingering fear that one day, everyone is going to stop loving or caring about BTS, their fame will be erased because they were never as famous or loved as you wanted to believe.

Do you know where that fear is coming from? Yep: The psychological abuse.

If you hear from toxic people over an extended amount of time that your faves are fake famous, the Korean public doesn't really love them, they'll never make it, and all other kinds of ugly mess, that type of toxic thinking gets internalized in some way.

BTS fans love BTS, but they can't help but express anxiety in some way that maybe every ugly thing that's been said is right and that they're wrong to believe that BTS will last long or they'll really be loved as world stars.

Hearing this from bigger, more powerful fandoms who had big around longer while being a young, weak fandom make it easier to hold onto their words as some small part of your psyche trusted their age and experience as fans and believed what they felt must have been true.

That, and these people had CERTAINLY seen many "nugu groups" and their fandoms come and go. By defying the odds, ARMYs might be suffering from a form of cognitive dissonance: Their sub-conscience believes BTS is meant to go away, but they love BTS and don't want them to go away.

BTS triggers powerful emotions in fans who love them and they make them happy. Fearing BTS might go away might make these fans anxious because they don't know how they might cope with the void if BTS were somehow removed from their lives.

#3 - BTS became so famous so fast, nobody got a chance adequately to cope with fandom trauma

(No the picture's not related; I'm trying to lighten the mood a bit...)

Think about how you view BTS members, their health and happiness, as well as their current level of success. Do you think they're still unloved? Do you think they're abused? Do you think they aren't respected or taken seriously?

If this is your current emotional state when you think about BTS, it's likely that your emotional state hasn't caught up with the present reality. You are living in 2014-15 with the hateful words of antis ringing in your ears and the negative feelings and fears that come with it.

In order to come to the present, you'd have to let those beliefs and feelings go. Unfortunately, that's not nearly as easy as it sounds. Blame the "Negative Bias Effect"

With this bias in effect, the brain is more likely to react strongly to information that is negative than information that is positive. And for some people this bias is stronger, making it harder for them to let go of years of negative beliefs and fear.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200306/our-brains-negative-bias

#4 - Plain Old Projection

This isn't exactly related to fandom trauma so much as it is *fan* trauma. What I mean is that people who are unhappy in their own lives might project their current anxiety and struggles onto BTS and their fandom life.

If you're afraid of your personal future and that you'll fail in your own life, you might somehow project these fears onto BTS, believing this rather successful group will ultimately fail or fearing for their future because you can't predict the outcome and it bothers you.

And it doesn't help when you've had to hear all sorts of negative things from toxic fandoms about how your favorites are "plagiarism boys" who are fake successful through media play by Big Hit and are doomed to fail in the future, "just wait and see."

So....there are a LOT of negative emotions floating around the fandom and they aren't necessarily dealt with in the most healthy of ways.

How do we begin to cope with this as a fandom? That's a discussion for tomorrow's thread.

/Part 1

Thanks for reading. Also as you can see, this would have been CRAZY LONG with both parts.

If you have any suggestions for healing, you can respond below.