I’ve used my opportunity to speak about One Direction several times through Odyssey. I’ve done this mostly because they’re my favorite band and I love them, but also because my experience as a fan has been overwhelming. I think that, as a whole being, the One Direction fandom is a powerful, wonderful, unstoppable force. While I think this, the majority of the world thinks otherwise. I’ve heard a million things through the years when people talk about the fandom.

They’re all crazy 12 year olds.
All you want to do is sleep with them.
They don’t make real music.

The list goes on and on. I’m here today to prove these things wrong and show the world that the One Direction fandom is much more than 12 year olds who only get their albums because they’re in love with one of the members.

First, let’s talk demographics. In a survey of over 500 people, over 60% of fans are over the age of 18. 19% of those people are over 24. That’s a huge leap from the tween age we’ve all heard before. 39% of the surveyed people identified as straight, 31% as bisexual, and 28% as gay or some other type of sexuality (asexual, pansexual, etc). Knowing this, it seems pretty improbable that the entire population of One Direction fans long to sleep with one of the members, right?

One Direction fans are incredibly diverse, too. They listen to many different kinds of music, not just pop. While 83% admitted they normally listen to pop music, 54% like rock, and 59% enjoy alternative music. Fans are pursuing all different kinds of higher education, from psychology, nursing, business, law, journalism, computer science, criminal justice, and so many others. Working fans are all over the place as well, ranging from teachers to engineers to sex workers to attorneys. Over 80% of fans have used their personal time to volunteer either currently or in the past.

Now on to the important things! One of the questions asked was “When did you first become a fan?” and the answers were very widespread. While the overwhelming amount was 30% in 2012, there were some as early as 2010 when the group was on The XFactor and some even joined in 2016, which is surprising as One Direction hasn’t created any new content this year, as they are on a hiatus. 42% answered that Louis was their favorite member, followed by Harry at 33%, Niall at 11%, Liam at 7%, and Zayn coming in last (who left the group last year). Most fans favorite album is the newest one, "Made in the A.M.", followed by "Four".

There’s also shipping (enjoying the idea of two people in a relationship), which has completely taken over fandom culture in the past few years, not just for One Direction. It can be negative or positive, depending on where you stand, but 39% answered that their attitude on it fell somewhere in between. I asked fans to explain why they chose their answer and here are just a few examples of what fans had to say.

“I think it's been a mainly positive experience since it helps bring like-minded people together. I also think that having popular LGBT ships helps bring positive attention on LGBT people and show younger, more vulnerable fans that it's okay to be who you are, you're still important and loved and equal.”

“It made me realise how many people are supportive of love, no matter what.”

“Some people are interested in things they like, and some people are interested in things they dislike. This fandom deals with an issue of bullying. People bully each other over ships. And I think it's wrong. Every person entitled to their choices, they can live however they want as long they don't cause any harm to themselves or others.”

As far as what fans love about their fandom experience, there was an overwhelming amount of fans who said that fanfiction was their favorite part, followed by how hilarious and creative the fandom is. A lot of people said they enjoy the memes the fandom creates when times are hard or when something ridiculous happens. More than that however, is the amount of people who said this fandom feels like family. They feel like no matter what, they can count on the friends they’ve made by listening to One Direction over the years. A lot of people have met their best friends through the music and the social media platforms that fans use to keep up with the boys.

The big question was “Your favorite thing about One Direction” and the responses floored me. I got the typical answers, like their friendship, the music, the fandom, their personalities, etc. But I got some amazing ones too, like that these boys pulled them from depression. Some said that they made them more accepting of LGBT couples. Some fans said that they learned about how the media loves to change our perspective of celebrities and expose false truths. The best ones I found, though, were that no matter what’s going on, One Direction makes their fans feel loved and accepted. To me, that’s the most important thing of all.

I could go on and on about the fandom; like how every year for the boys birthdays, they have a fundraiser for a wide variety of charities. Last year, the fandom raised over $22,000 for Gay and Lesbian Switchboard for Harry Styles’ birthday. That is insane! Not to mention fan projects that have reached national scale, like the No Control Project which got “No Control”, a song from their album Four, played on radio stations across the world despite it not being a single. There’s also Rainbow Direction, which aimed to make LGBT fans in the fandom feel loved and accepted by bringing rainbow flags to shows and arranging meetups, plus a whirlwind of other stuff.

There are definitely bad apples in the fandom, like stalkers and creeps. All fandoms have those. But at the end of the day, the majority of the fandom is respectful, loving people. So before you pass judgment on these people who love a boyband, be kind enough to do your research.