“We didn’t think we’d ever write this message. » The death of Liam Payne, member of the One Direction group, on Wednesday, also caused a stir in various online fan clubs, like this message posted by Team1DFrance on Twitter. The boy band, propelled by “X Factor”, had a major impact on teenagers in the 2010s. A success also characterized by the presence of its community on the Internet.
On Facebook, a simple search for “One Direction” returns hundreds of groups, in every language, ranging from three or four members to several thousand. Carla, 25, who discovered boy bands at 12, was in one of these groups. “I called it “Against the One Direction groupies”, the group had toured and we were around fifty little girls from all over France,” she says. It was the first time I felt like I had so many people to share a passion with. »
Arriving in 2004, Facebook gradually dethroned blogs and forums as a place for sharing between fans. “The year 2010 is clearly the great development of the Web and the structuring of online fan communities,” confirms Julie Escurignan, lecturer in management at the Catholic University of the West and specialist in links between communities. of fans and cultural industries.
Montages, quizzes and fanfics
Without necessarily causing a revolution in practices, the growth of networks makes it easier to share one’s creations and one’s identity as fans, continues Julie Escurignan. Among these productions, fanfics, these written stories featuring stars or fictional characters, occupy an important place. On Archive of our own, one of the largest sharing sites, One Direction is the subject of more than 64,000 works. “It was a bit of a fashion at the time,” Carla remembers. I started writing some because I was already reading a lot of them, the main one had around twenty chapters illustrated with photos. It was a story where I became One Direction’s stylist, saw the band behind the scenes and had friendships or romances with the members. »
And it wasn’t the only way to put yourself out there in the community and share your little teenage crush. “On Facebook, there were a lot of interactions, games, quizzes to find out who was the best fan, and we won dedicated fanfic chapters or montages of us with our favorite member,” Carla continues. It sounds ridiculous but it stimulated creativity. »
The end of an era
The Internet allows these creations and this passion to be shared with an even wider audience. Even, to make connections. “Over time, the other members really became my friends,” says the former One Direction fan. We told each other about our days, we called each other on Skype. Lots of people have created super strong relationships. » “Social networks allow global communities of fans, not just limited to their city or region,” adds Julie Escarignan. Typically, the call for One Direction fans to come together this Sunday is facilitated by social media. »
This phenomenon is not exclusive to One Direction, but rather to the cultural phenomena of an era. At the same time, fans of Harry Potterfor example, also weave large communities on the Internet. The culture around other musical artists has similarities. “The practices of Taylor Swift fans are similar, illustrates Julie Escarignan for example, because the audience is also similar, young and rather female. » If there are also points in common with K-pop, the expert believes that the communities are differentiated by the intensity of certain fans, or their social and political commitment.
The end of One Direction obviously didn’t help. In 2015, Zayn Malik announced that he was leaving the group. “There I say to myself, that’s it, my boy band is breaking up, it’s the end,” Carla still remembers, then at the start of 1st grade. The group announces an indefinite break one year later. “I, too, stopped the fan accounts little by little,” concludes Carla. We also grew up, in final year I had other concerns. And in 2016, Facebook is becoming a bit like our parents’ has-been network. » . “Since that time, the community has been a little different, because there is no longer a group,” confirms Julie Escarignan. The death of Liam Payne is also the death of One Direction and the idea that the group could reform one day. »
