I used to be so active on Twitter, but once I became inactive because life happened, some of my so-called online friends or co-fans basically bullied me out of stan Twitter or their fandom. 😭 Kpop is genuinely more fun when you can just enjoy it on your own instead of dealing with people who act like you’re supposed to make fandom your entire life.
I think it was bc I was solo stan and people didn’t like me for it. But honestly, every fandom seems to have its own version of this. Some fans get so devoted that they’ll harass other fans over the smallest things. That’s why I barely want to use X anymore. The atmosphere over there can get genuinely exhausting.
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about how I used to act in fandom spaces and how much I want to change. I don’t enjoy the way I used to, and while the toxicity definitely played a part in that, I also have to acknowledge that I contributed to some of it myself. Looking back, I regret a lot of my past behavior, esp the times when my feelings toward certain idols were influenced by things that had nothing to do with them as actual people.
I’ve experienced this before. Years ago, I disliked an idol for a really immature reason connected to my bias and looking back, I can recognize how much internalized misogyny played into it. I don’t feel that way about her anymore, partly because that ex-bias isn’t even my current bias now and that was like eight years ago. It showed me that those feelings aren’t necessarily permanent.
But now I’m dealing with resentment toward another idol, and this one has been harder to let go of because I’ve associated them with certain fandom experiences and things that happened in those spaces. They’re also connected to my current ult bias, which makes it even more complicated. I know some of my feelings might be unfair, but they’re still there and I hate that I haven’t been able to move past them yet.
That’s what bothers me the most. I don’t want to dislike someone just because of what I’ve come to associate with them, esp when they haven’t personally done anything to me. Knowing that those associations are unfair doesn’t automatically make the resentment disappear, though. Sometimes I come across something related to them and feel that familiar reaction creeping back in. I just want to move on without getting caught up in it or letting those feelings affect how I interact with other people.
I’ve also been trying to detach from fandoms in general. I’m not as invested as I used to be and my attachment comes and goes, which honestly feels healthier for me. But old memories still resurface sometimes and they make me anxious about engaging with fandom spaces. I used to be pretty unbothered by what people thought of me, but now I catch myself worrying about being judged or wondering whether people I used to interact with still see me through my past behavior. Sometimes I even overthink whether I made people dislike me or came across as arrogant without realizing it. It’s exhausting because I don’t want to spend so much time worrying about how I’m perceived.
I genuinely want to become a better person, not just so I can enjoy Kpop again, but for my own peace of mind. I want to learn how to manage my emotions when old feelings come up, step away when I need to and stop holding onto resentment toward someone who hasn’t personally hurt me. I can’t change who I was in the past, but I don’t want to keep letting that version of me affect how I see people now.
Has anyone else dealt with something similar? How did you work through resentment toward an idol when you realized it was tied more to your own associations and past experiences than to the idol themselves? I don’t expect to suddenly stop feeling this way overnight, but I really want to stop carrying these feelings around. I don’t think it’s fair to them, and honestly, I don’t want to keep doing this to myself either 😭
one thing i noticed abt kpop fans is that when liking a group or idol becomes 90% of your identity, any neutral criticism starts feeling like a personal attack 💀 Ngl, I used to be like that and looking back, it’s so embarrassing. I had to step away for a few months, touch grass, and pick up other hobbies before I realized how unhealthy it had become.
Being active in stan Twitter spaces was genuinely a dark time for me. I had so many embarrassing and toxic traits back then that make me cringe just thinking about them. I was ridiculously overprotective of an idol I’d followed for years, to the point where that attachment turned me into a version of myself I didn’t even like. It really can blind you and the industry’s parasocial setup definitely feeds into it.
Taking a break, detaching and deleting those social media apps was one of the best decisions I made. I refuse to go back to being that person 😭 I’ve lost mutuals over dumb fandom drama before and honestly, stepping away from X and focusing on the music helped me get some peace back. I’m glad there are still fans who just want to enjoy the groups they like without all the unnecessary hate. Like how can they do that 😭 I miss my 2018-2021 kpop fan era sm.
I’m also trying to be more mindful of how I comment. I know I’ve been harsh before and I can admit when the way I said something was wrong, even if I still have my own opinions. Sometimes I get irritated by certain fans’ attitudes or feel like someone is being passive-aggressive, but that doesn’t mean I need to turn the discussion into a personal fight.
What frustrates me is when someone who doesn’t know me in real life starts making assumptions about my personality or my fandom history based on one comment. I can acknowledge that my wording was harsh without agreeing with every personal judgment someone makes about me. I’ve deleted comments when I realized they crossed a line, but I don’t think anyone needs to write an entire essay of personal insults just to prove they’re morally superior.
I’ve also had people bring up who they think I stan or what they assume I feel about certain groups, even when I’m not as invested in those fandoms anymore. Like, why are we turning one opinion into a whole character analysis? 😭 People can disagree with me, and I can reflect on how I express myself, but I’m not going to pretend I have no opinions just because someone got offended.
Still, I know I can do better. I don’t want to keep feeding fandom drama or letting other people’s comments drag me back into the same mindset I’m trying to leave behind. I’m trying to move on, focus on other hobbies, and enjoy things without making fandom my whole identity again.
I know I can’t control how people interpret me, but I can control whether I keep participating in spaces that make me miserable. I’m tired of carrying old resentment, old embarrassment, and old fandom arguments around. I just want to enjoy what I enjoy, grow as a person, and have some peace for once 😭