Should Fan Bases Use their Platforms to Speak About Global Issues?

What We Talkin’ Bout is EnVi’s op-ed series that tackles serious social and cultural topics in an up-close and personal way. Each WWTB goes beyond just opinions to provide in-depth breakdowns of relevant issues that matter to us most.

2020 has been difficult for everyone—personally, professionally, financially, socially—and it seems like we’re watching everything we know and believe in crumble right before our eyes. As we’ve all had more time on our hands than usual, we’ve also found the time to research and advocate for issues we believe in, and push the boundaries for a more equal and just world. 

In a time where K-Pop fans are in the spotlight more now than ever, many think it is necessary to use these moments to shine light on important issues around the world. From Black Lives Matter to relief for the Beirut explosion and support for protesters in Bangkok, NCT fan bases have used their platforms to educate and spread awareness about important global issues.

Several fanbase admins, who all wish to remain anonymous, spoke out about why they choose to or not use their accounts to speak up about these issues.

“Although my content is mainly NCT and this allowed me to gain followers, I feel like I shouldn’t ignore bigger issues in the world” said one admin who runs an NCT focused K-Pop Instagram with over 20k followers. They continued “[A lot of these] problems don’t always get talked about in mainstream media, getting more people to know about these issues will ultimately lead to more people trying to solve them, which will help us all.”

While all can agree it is important to be educated and aware of worldly matters, they differ on if a fan page is the right place to do so. When asked what they think about the sentiment that fan accounts should “stay in their place” they had opposing opinions on the subject.

“It is not that [fan accounts] need to stay in their place, so to say. It’s that people follow specific accounts for specific content. If someone who is already dealing with something really heavy follows an account to see their bias and cheer them up, but instead sees more depressing content, it could really mess with them,” a Twitter fanbase admin said.

“There are fans around the world who unfortunately cannot find solace in fan generated content, videos, music, etc. because of the many issues around the world. I think it’s important to show solidarity with these fans, I do not agree we should stay in our place,” another one countered. “We’re all humans before we’re fanbase accounts.”

While all can agree it is important to be educated and aware of worldly matters, they differ on if a fan page is the right place to do so.

Even if NCT hasn’t commented or brought up these particular things, it hasn’t stopped their fans and fan accounts from being vocal about it. It is a popular belief that K-Pop idols are banned from speaking up on social issues publicly.  

But as a popular fan account put it, “Just because they may not be able to use their large platforms does not mean we shouldn’t either.” A second chimed in, “We fan pages should consider educating and spreading information as one of our duties, we have the reach, we should do something positive with it.”

To counter that point, a third fanbase brought up there are times when accounts will “share information without doing the proper research themselves. Which leads to a spread of misinformation that can get very messy, really quickly.” 

While intentions may be good spirited, it is important to note that the spread of misinformation on social media can be damaging to many causes. “It is imperative to thoroughly research anything you read or come across especially before posting to your account of course. I think fan pages have become very good at vetting information recently, which will allow us to be more reliable in the future,” stated a US based admin.

When asked about the future, all the fan bases were excited about the growth of their platforms and their hopes to continue to do good and spread love and joy to their followers.

“I hope to get to a point where we as a fandom can support and help each other no matter what is going on, that is what it’s all about,” a sentiment they all agree on. “[Running] this account has helped me through a lot and I hope one day I can give it all back.”

Check out more pieces from the What We Talkin ‘Bout series here!