Can we have a collective moment of silence for media literacy?
Because apparently itβs missing.
The older I get, the more fascinating fandom sociology becomes.
I genuinely love watching BTS interact with each other. Thatβs honestly one of my favorite parts of being ARMY. The little glances, inside jokes, years of history, the comfort they have with one another it doesnβt really matter which members are on screen together because theyβre all entertaining in different ways. Of course, like any group of friends whoβve spent over a decade together, there are probably members who naturally gravitate toward each other more than others. Thatβs justβ¦being human.
I have my own opinions. I make observations. I notice dynamics. I enjoy certain interactions more than others. Thatβs literally part of being in a fandom.
What I donβt do is spend my entire existence trying to convince strangers on the internet that my interpretation is the only interpretation.
I donβt write think pieces under every post explaining why everyone else is βdelusional.β
I donβt narrate BTSβs lives as if Namjoon accidentally added me to the group chat in 2014.
Some of yβall genuinely speak with the confidence of eyewitnesses.
βJimin interruptedβ¦β
βTaehyung was clearly upsetβ¦β
βJungkook actually meantβ¦β
Your PhD in Freeze-Framing a 0.3-second clip?
The thing that genuinely grosses me out, though, is how quickly so much of it turns into outright hatred toward Jimin.
Not preferring another dynamic.
Iβve lost count of the edits, threads, and essays where Itβs like some people have decided Jimin has to be the villain in every story because otherwise their preferred narrative falls apart. Every smile is manipulation. Every interaction is βproof.β Every time heβs simply existing, someone is writing a twelve-paragraph essay about why heβs secretly ruining everyone elseβs life.
You donβt know these men.
Thatβs why I stay in my lane.
Iβll make my observations, appreciate the moments I enjoy, laugh, cry, scream over concert clips, and thenβ¦go live my actual life.
Because fandom is supposed to be something that adds joy to your life not something that becomes your entire identity.
At some point, thatβs no longer fandom.
Solo whoever you want. Ship whoever you want. Seriously, I couldnβt care less. Taekook, VMin, YoonMin, JiKook, Jinkook, NamJin whatever you enjoy. Thatβs your business.
What isnβt normal is making it your lifeβs mission to βdebunkβ everyone else, harass people who see things differently, or tear down a member of BTS because your favorite storyline requires him to be the bad guy.
If your version of being a βfanβ involves relentlessly insulting one-seventh of the very group you claim to loveβ¦
I have a hard time calling that being a fan of BTS.
It starts looking a lot more like weird obsession of a person or persons in the group when they are in fact 7.
Or, honestly, sasaeng behavior the mentality that you somehow have ownership over strangersβ personal lives, that your imagined access is more real than the boundaries theyβve repeatedly asked fans to respect.
Maybe Iβm just getting old, but some people genuinely need to log off, go outside, touch grass, hydrate, and remember that admiration should never require inventing certainty.
Because the rest of us are just enjoying watching seven incredibly talented men who have chosen to share pieces of their lives with us and being completely satisfied and content with that. β€οΈ
The moment you start speaking for them, attacking one of them, or rewriting reality to fit your preferred narrativeβ¦
thatβs no longer appreciation.
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