Why are Swifties and Charli xcx fans at war? I blame Big Tech | Arwa Mahdawi
Our digital ecosystem thrives on division in everything from politics to pop. Devoted fanbases are one result - ready to unleash hell on haters
Being a geriatric millennial means I was born too late to take advantage of cheap house prices and too early to become an influencer. I was, however, born at the perfect time to be a fan. The late 90s were the halcyon days of teenage fan culture: technology was advanced enough to let you connect with other devotees through online discussion forums and pour your heart into fan sites (I had a GeoCities site devoted to the grunge band Bush). But it also wasnβt easy to spend unhealthy amounts of time obsessing online: dial-up connections meant regularly getting booted off the internet so your parents could use the phone.
Now, of course, thereβs nothing preventing people spending every waking minute cultivating unhealthy parasocial relationships. Superstars like Taylor Swift have armies of fans that span the globe, ready to unleash hell on haters. Earlier this year, for example, Paste magazine published a (negative) review of Taylor Swiftβs album The Tortured Poetβs Department without a byline, to keep the writer safe. The outlet explained that βin 2019 when Paste reviewed Lover, the writer was sent threats of violenceβ.
Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist
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Continue reading...Β© Composite: Getty, Harley Weir
Β© Composite: Getty, Harley Weir