Every form of entertainment, every celebrity, and every form of art has a core group of fans that get together to demonstrate their love and support for the artist. This is referred to as fandom in the context of that particular creative genre. For example, some people enjoy K-drama while others prefer anime, and this is entirely dependent on personal preference. There is nothing wrong with displaying love and support for an art form.

The issue occurs when people become toxic in situations when one fanbase begins to propagate hatred toward another. They don’t even acknowledge the possibility of other types of art. Some anime fans, for example, strive to propagate hatred and toxicity against viewers of other types of shows, such as k-drama, and vice versa. People who have never seen anime try to judge it solely on the basis of images and trailers.

Who are these Toxic fans?

Fandom that is both healthy and appreciative is a good thing. In a collaborative group, good fans help one another. They work together to improve each other. Toxic fandom, on the other hand, is the polar opposite. It occurs when fans conduct purity tests on one another. It’s when they express their dissatisfaction with a particular feature of the play in overly emotional terms. Toxic fans, on the other hand, are the abusive party in an unpleasant relationship with the content they enjoy. That is, they aren’t there to praise it; rather, they are there to control and deny it.

Toxic enthusiasts will only look up information relating to them. They tune out and block out everything else, focusing solely on what they want to see, creating an echo chamber and refusing to accept any viewpoint that differs from their own.

The Herd Mentality

In what is known as internet echo chambers, toxic fan culture emerges. Dissenting viewpoints are not accepted in an echo chamber, which can be found on internet forums or social media groups. This indicates that the group has a herd mentality. When an outsider joins and makes a mistake in one of these groups, they are frequently rudely ‘taught’ or just banned.

Those are the kinds of fans who are harmful to others. They hijack and take over their fandoms with their illogical babble, which varies from racism to death threats when someone disagreed with them or things didn’t go their way, despite their modest numbers.

How to avoid these toxic fans?

I would say one-word IGNORE...

Trying to confront toxic fans only causes them to retreat deeper into their echo chambers, further alienating them from society. This feeds their persecution complex, as well as their false sense of superiority that comes with it. To keep your sanity, it’s sometimes best to ignore them. If you confront them, they may accuse you of being the bully or harasser, which can lead to a terrible, endless dispute. They may intimidate or harass you as a result of it. Negative reinforcement is used when you neglect them. Attention is a form of payment, and you demonstrate that only those who meet decency norms are worthy of it.

In the same way, you should constantly call out toxic fans in the real world. Conventions are an excellent place to speak out against fandom behavior that you find inappropriate. The goal of a convention is for everyone to have a good time. Someone who is disrespectful or negative will very certainly be kicked out. You don’t have to fight them; just be alert about them.

Final Words…..

Toxic fans exist in everything that has a fan base. However, certain items appear to have more toxic admirers than others, or more incidents of toxic fans acting out. This has to do with the types of people who are drawn to the fictional work in the issue. For example, people who watch anime love art, the Japanese culture on the other hand people who watch k-drama love the Korean culture and their way of light-hearted storytelling. People who love Game of thrones love dark, violent and complicated storylines and on the other hand people who like F.R.I.E.N.D.S love light-hearted comedy.

These aren’t awful works of fiction, and the writer of the fiction isn’t to blame for how people react. Certain works of literature, on the other hand, can contain features that stoke poisonous fandom fires. Being a toxic fan, then, is nothing to be proud of nor is it an accomplishment or proof of love for a series.