The Kids are Alright? : Generational Distinction vs ‘We-sense’ in an Ageing Music Fandom.

Fathallah, Judith (2024) The Kids are Alright? : Generational Distinction vs ‘We-sense’ in an Ageing Music Fandom. The Journal of Fandom Studies, 12 (2-3). pp. 179-199. ISSN 2046-6692

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Abstract

With the maturation of fan studies as a field, longitudinal approaches to fandom across time have been gaining more attention. Both the ageing of participants within fandoms and the ageing of fandoms as collectives have been topics for study. Popular music fandoms are particularly relevant for such studies, due to the strong connections between music and memory that often endure over years. This article investigates the negotiation of subcultural capital in one ageing music fandom, grounded in enduring and long-term experience of older participants, as it is held in tension with the construction of a cross-generational ‘we-sense’, which includes younger and less experienced participants. The fan forum under study is the subreddit r/falloutboy, which was selected as a stable archive dating back over a decade; as well as the applicability of a band fandom that has enjoyed varying degrees of popularity of over twenty years. I argue that fans in this this ageing fandom, on the one hand, remain invested in a sense of distinction based in age and enduring fandom and on the other hand recognize the need for change and adaptability for any fandom to survive, including an influx of new and young members.