Explore the connections between people who are part of any "fandom" be it comic, movie, book or otherwise, and the potential benefits of it on their mental health. Does being a part of a community help them? Is it their immersion in another reality? Is it even helpful at all, or hurtful instead?
Is there any actual evidence of this? If not, I think it would be really hard to write about it. Interesting to raise the issue, but hard to make an argument. – ismael6769 years ago
Like anything this issue should be presented as having both positives and negatives as people can veer from one extreme to the other. Coping mechanisms can give way to dependency to addiction. The article could look at some warning signs of growing negative impacts. – Munjeera9 years ago
This is something you have to be super super super careful about writing. While it's fascinating to think of the effects fandoms can have on their members, you'd need to talk to people who take part for different reasons.
Take Asagao Academy, for example. On paper, a dating sim centered on real-life YouTubers sounds a bit odd, but this was done with incredible care and a sense of humor. More info: http://kotaku.com/when-liking-and-subscribing-to-your-favorite-youtuber-i-1776892213 – Payton9 years ago
As someone who suffers from mental illness but doesn't include themselves among any particular "fandom", I'd say it really depends on the person. Each fandom has their good and bad aspects, and falling into the wrong crowd online creates just as much as a negative effect on mental health as it would in real life. – BoomBap9 years ago