We thought the day would never come: a trending One Direction fandom tag on Twitter that’s actually a work of satire. Behold, the wonders of #TumblrFansBeLike.
#twitterfansbelike WTF GIRLS SAT NEXT TO 5SOS LET’S FIND THEIR TWITTER AND SEND DEATH THREATS meawhile #TumblrFansBeLike use a condom
— Giulia (@giuliavidoni) August 5, 2014
#TumblrFansBeLike i can’t believe he tweeted “thank you for listening to our album :)” like what about the deaf fans? SO disrespectful.
— nina :B (@rosyirishcheeks) August 4, 2014
You had no idea One Direction fans were this ironic, did you?
Actually, it’s not really wry self-awareness so much as a wry mockery of Tumblr culture.
It should be no secret by now that One Direction fans throw the most epic feuds. There was that time they started a Twitter war with Beliebers through a sandwich joke, the time they faced off over a calendar date with Whovians, and, of course, the time they feuded with a record executive and his family over a hilarious case of mistaken conspiracy.
But no feud Directioners have had with other fandoms or individuals compares to the one that roils within the fandom itself, between One Direction fans on Tumblr and One Direction fans on Twitter.
What’s the difference? A lot, according to the fans. Generally, Directioners who are pro-Tumblr see the Twitter fans as prone to making death threats and constantly creating drama, while the Tumblr Directioners are just here to party. Witness a typical post by Tumblr user aggressiveharrys:
does everyone one else notice how all tumblr directioners get along but twitter directioners always bitch at each other?
like tumblr directioners:
twitter directioners:
let’s all be serious we are the better half of the fandom
On the other hand, many Directioners on Twitter see the Tumblr fans as too politically correct, too obsessed with preserving the privacy and virtue of the band members, and too serious.
Case in point? The recent hashtag #BeAFanDay, poised to coincide with the return of One Direction to the U.S. on tour, had band member Liam Payne going into full-scale parody mode earlier this week. Payne decided to turn his Twitter account into a total 1D fangirl account directed at fellow bandmate Niall Horan.
Oooo I’m such a Niall girl OHH MYFFF GOWDDD IM CRUIYING #BeAFanDay pic.twitter.com/TafKItxniw
— MRS HORAN (@Real_Liam_Payne) August 4, 2014
After changing his Twitter name to “Mrs Horan,” Payne proceeded to spend the whole day tweeting and behaving like a typical breathless Niall fangirl.
But not all fans were happy about his behavior. On Tumblr, more than a few users were upset that Payne was, in their eyes, using the #BeAFanDay tag to mock actual fans.
That’s just the typical Tumblr “Social Justice Warrior” lack of a sense of humor, right? Well, at least according to Twitter fans, who promptly spawned the #TumblrFansBeLike hashtag in response to what they saw as Tumblr’s spoil-sport attitude.
#tumblrfansbelike obviously liam mocking us showed his true colors. he is fanaphobic and i will not stand for it.
— chris pratt stan (@haimliam) August 4, 2014
#tumblrfansbelike*sees Harry sitting in grass* The earths spirit is bonding with him the grass helps His soul Embrace the freshness of it
— Shai (@RavishlyShai) August 4, 2014
#TumblrFansBeLike MRS horan?? why couldnt it just be MS horan not every religion believes in marriage its an insult to peoples beliefs liam.
— sinmi #_# (@styles1960) August 4, 2014
#tumblrfansbelike What is he doing? this is making fun of my religion i am 0.2% indian this is why i only stan louis pic.twitter.com/gRN5NnVGv3
— jafar (@isliamic) August 4, 2014
#TumblrFansBeLike liam please tag your incoherent text posts because they’re triggering
— jake (@kazoouiam) August 4, 2014
#tumblrfansbelike liam taking pictures with his phone ???so disrespectful doesn’t he know how many people cant afford one??!?
— eva :/ (@angrylous) August 4, 2014
You might think that all of this is a recipe for a giant fandom melee. But it doesn’t really seem as though Tumblr fans have noticed. If they have, they’re good at turning the other cheek. Meanwhile, plenty of fans who are active on both platforms have gotten a kick out of the tag.
#tumblrfansbelike im a tumblr fan as well and these are accurate lmao why would i be offended
— ❀ (@anxilouis) August 5, 2014
And there was plenty of pointing the finger at Twitter Directioners, too.
#twitterfansbelike *insert the n word here* *insert f*ggot here* *insert any other slur here*
— pop punk sam (@stumpniall) August 4, 2014
The whole tumblr vs twitter fans, nobody on tumblr gives u the time of day mate, they don’t care about ur hashtag #tumblrfansbelike
— LOUISANDHARRY (@larry2k12) August 5, 2014
But before you go to hate either or both of the two Directioner clans, consider that there is, indeed, a self-awareness between all of the snark. After all, it takes two halves, however disparate they may be, to make a whole fandom, in all its diversity and drama.
Twitter vs Tumblr #twitterfansbelike #tumblrfansbelike pic.twitter.com/1sZaaPFgKH
— Madasyn Knight (@KnghtMadasyn) August 5, 2014
All in all, it seems the Tumblr fans and the Twitter fans are just two different expressions on the same face of One Direction fandom.
Photo via Twitter