Toxic fandoms.

[rogueslayer452]

Taken from this fandom meme:

What would make you leave a fandom, or prevent you from getting into it in the first place?

Too much toxicity and negativity.

I've left some fandoms for this exact reason. Sometimes I can still enjoy something even if I distance myself from its fanbase and more likely than not I can remain blissfully unaware of whatever fandom drama is happening, but other times such negativity can unfortunately be inescapable. All fandoms have a toxic side to them, and some can be louder than others, and it is more or less subjective depending on the platform you use and who you follow, and sometimes you need to reevaluate your own involvement in said fandom. In general, fandom is supposed to be fun, if you're not longer having fun, no matter what the cause, then you need to take a step back. Taking a breather can be good, and it can allow yourself to gain some perspective, regroup, and rethink if/when you jump back into the fandom again.

(Also, as something I've learned overtime, you can still be fannish about something without ever being involved with its fandom. It doesn't make you less of a fan or less enthusiastic about fanfic/fanart/meta/etc if you're not deeply involved or hardly interact with the fandom community.)

When it comes to the piece of media itself, if I'm no longer enjoying it I just stop consuming it altogether. I just don't have the time or the patience for something that I'm unhappy with.

Comments

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I also don't understand why people continue watching something they obviously no longer enjoy.

I think there is this mentality that if you've been watching something, especially a long ongoing show, that you have to see it through until the end otherwise you're not a true "fan", which is kind of ridiculous imho. I get that some people are completionists, but not everyone is.

I also think that there's this other side of that mentality where you think that well, even if the writing sucks you care about the characters and you're staying with it for them to show that kind of support even if you continually get more and more frustrated with the direction of the story. I used to have that mentality for a brief moment with a particular fandom many years ago because I convinced myself that I had to stay for the characters. But ultimately that backfired on me big time because of how draining it all was in the end, leaving me feeling miserable and more stressed out than anything else. Surrounding yourself with constant negativity, even if it's a mutually agreed upon negativity, is not good for you or anyone else. It only creates a toxic environment which breeds more toxicity, which can discourage anyone else from speaking about something that they love about the thing that you're growing to despise.

There is also a difference between being critical and giving constructive criticism of something you love versus negativity, which I think is where people can get confused by since I've seen, and have also used, the defense of "but being critical of something you love is good!" which in theory it can be, but the lines can blur so easily when supposed constructive criticism can turn into just plain negativity. So yeah, if you're no longer enjoying something, just stop engaging with it.