[ SECRET POST #5264 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #5264 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.


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06. [WARNING for discussion of eating disorders]

















Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 00 secrets from Secret Submission Post #753.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I personally think that it's a combination of two things: a move away from modded spaces, and a rapid expansion in demographic.

When I was a wee one getting into fandom years ago, it was on LJ where discussions were in modded communities. I lurked, learned the ropes, then started venturing out. I made missteps, people were like "hey kid, that's not how we do it around here", but it was pretty chill. Now, new fans just sort of follow a tag and it's a blur. There were always jerks, bad mods, and toxic comms, but you could usually find your way around. Now everything is decentralized, and young fans in particular no longer have the boundaries between RL and fandom life. Fan wars also have realized they can turn their fandom takes into moral arguments--why say "Ginny/Harry is dumb, Harry/Hermione is way better!" "No way, Ginny/Harry forever!" when you can say "Umm, yeah, Ginny/Harry is inherently abusive because as the little sister of his best friend and the fact she used to hero worship him means there's always going to be a power imbalance :/" "listen sweaty :) It's super misogynistic to argue being Ron's little sister in any way shape or form prevents her from dating whoever she wants as a consenting adult! This is literally in the book :)" and know that what fictional characters you like to see bone fictionally on the internet is what declares you the Good Person.

The other issue is demographics. While there were always teens in fandom, in early fandom days, to be active you needed a reliable internet connection, a computer, and time to devote to it. When most teens were working off of dial up and relying on their family for a) the time and space to do so and b) the equipment, it meant adult spaces were mostly adult. This is no longer true--most people have constant access, yes. However, teens are usually the ones with the most free time to spend on fandom things, and have come to expect any online space they come to is For Them.

There have always been bullies and toxic behavior in fandom. But now there are more bullies, and they have a more vicious toolbox and very little oversight to their bad behavior.