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rogueslayer452Challenge #5: Talk about what has improved in your life thanks to fandom. [...] Fandom can be a highly meaningful experience for many! We'd love to hear about how being part of a fandom has helped your life change for the better. Have you made any cherished memories or connections? Does fandom bring you joy?
01. Online friendships. I mentioned this in one of the previous prompts about how my teen years were quite horrible, and discovering the online fandom community was my form of escapism. The online friendships I made along that journey over the years helped with that tremendously. Finding that connection online in a community that thrived off of the nerdy and geeky things that I was also a fan of was such a fantastic feeling. I view online friendships just as valid as in real life ones, it helps us connect with each other no matter where we are in the world, no matter where we are in our lives, through a shared interest. I treasure every single friendship I made through fandom.
02. Improved my writing skills. Getting involved with fandom has actually helped me improve my writing in different ways, by reading not just fanfiction but also the way people structure their posts with metas, character/shipping manifestos, and reviews and such, all which inspired me to create some of those things of my own, and although far from perfect I have definitely improved the structure of my writing.
03. Learned how to navigate the Internet. Strange as it sounds, for all its ups and downs and my own missteps along the way, fandom was quite an early teacher for me when it came to understanding how to navigate and conduct myself in online spaces, including how to calmly respond and communicate with people. Even how to write my own entries, as explained above, was through the examples of what I saw in fandom. And truthfully, it was merely observing the behavior that, even now in hindsight, has been helpful because even now as the Internet has shifted and changed over the years I take with me those past experiences and still use them (ex: not being reactionary, taking my time to think how to respond to a comment, being mindful of how I come across when writing out something).
04. Conventions. Had it not been for fandom, I would never have attended my first convention. What was supposed to have been a one time thing ended up becoming multiple times and then something I enjoyed going, even for local conventions. Sadly, because of COVID I haven't returned to the convention scene, but even though I cannot foresee it happening in the near future I still have hopes to go to one again somewhere down the line.
05. So. Many. Fandoms. I've been introduced to so many different fandoms I would never have known or been exposed to otherwise, many which have become my absolute favorite pieces of media. What's exciting is that it's endless! There's always something new to discover, to get obsessed with, to seek out other fans to squee about it. It's exciting, and it's honestly, truly what keeps me going.
01. Online friendships. I mentioned this in one of the previous prompts about how my teen years were quite horrible, and discovering the online fandom community was my form of escapism. The online friendships I made along that journey over the years helped with that tremendously. Finding that connection online in a community that thrived off of the nerdy and geeky things that I was also a fan of was such a fantastic feeling. I view online friendships just as valid as in real life ones, it helps us connect with each other no matter where we are in the world, no matter where we are in our lives, through a shared interest. I treasure every single friendship I made through fandom.
02. Improved my writing skills. Getting involved with fandom has actually helped me improve my writing in different ways, by reading not just fanfiction but also the way people structure their posts with metas, character/shipping manifestos, and reviews and such, all which inspired me to create some of those things of my own, and although far from perfect I have definitely improved the structure of my writing.
03. Learned how to navigate the Internet. Strange as it sounds, for all its ups and downs and my own missteps along the way, fandom was quite an early teacher for me when it came to understanding how to navigate and conduct myself in online spaces, including how to calmly respond and communicate with people. Even how to write my own entries, as explained above, was through the examples of what I saw in fandom. And truthfully, it was merely observing the behavior that, even now in hindsight, has been helpful because even now as the Internet has shifted and changed over the years I take with me those past experiences and still use them (ex: not being reactionary, taking my time to think how to respond to a comment, being mindful of how I come across when writing out something).
04. Conventions. Had it not been for fandom, I would never have attended my first convention. What was supposed to have been a one time thing ended up becoming multiple times and then something I enjoyed going, even for local conventions. Sadly, because of COVID I haven't returned to the convention scene, but even though I cannot foresee it happening in the near future I still have hopes to go to one again somewhere down the line.
05. So. Many. Fandoms. I've been introduced to so many different fandoms I would never have known or been exposed to otherwise, many which have become my absolute favorite pieces of media. What's exciting is that it's endless! There's always something new to discover, to get obsessed with, to seek out other fans to squee about it. It's exciting, and it's honestly, truly what keeps me going.
no subject
Date: 2025-01-29 12:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-01-29 02:52 pm (UTC)but also the way people structure their posts with metas, character/shipping manifestos, and reviews and such
That's a good point. I think they helped me a lot, too.
(ex: not being reactionary, taking my time to think how to respond to a comment, being mindful of how I come across when writing out something).
Yes. More people could use those skills.
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Date: 2025-01-30 08:59 am (UTC)Agreed. Sadly, social media, by design, actively encourages reactionary responses, and this has extended to other places online where people will just say anything without understanding the rules, etiquette and atmosphere of the place they're in. And really, online etiquette nowadays feels like it's been forgotten about, and something we need to rectify and update, but common decency of thinking before commenting should always be there regardless.
(It would also help with people not believing everything they see that crosses their feeds, to double and triple check sources, and to adhere to the old Internet rule of "don't feed the trolls" and learn when to disengage when you know things are going to be done in bad faith.)
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Date: 2025-01-30 07:07 pm (UTC)(It would also help with people not believing everything they see that crosses their feeds, to double and triple check sources, and to adhere to the old Internet rule of "don't feed the trolls" and learn when to disengage when you know things are going to be done in bad faith.)
Exactly. That is something I had to learn, and still have to remind myself. Sometimes it's not worth it. You're not going to change anyone's mind, and they might be poking to begin with.
On the flip side, I think there's something to be said for giving people credit. Sometimes people are being ignorant, but misunderstandings do happen.
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Date: 2025-01-29 05:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-01-30 08:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-01-30 12:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-01-31 04:15 am (UTC)