Connections, Community, Creativity: Online Music Fandoms and Mental Health

The COVID-19 pandemic saw a 25% increase in global cases of anxiety and depression.1 For many, online music fandoms became an important way to combat loneliness and aid wellbeing. Interacting with others who shared an interest in a particular musician or music genre acted as a positive support mechanism, fostering a sense of community and feeling of belonging, as well as providing a renewed sense of identity and purpose at a time of great uncertainty. Dr. Lauren Alex O’Hagan, research fellow at the Open University, is one such example. Struggling with her mental health, she found comfort in the Rory Gallagher Instagram community. In her own words, her decision to join was “life-changing” not just in cultivating new friendships, but also in developing new areas of academic research and the internationally acclaimed music blog Rewriting Rory, aimed at shining a positive light on the last ten years in Gallagher’s career. In October 2024, O’Hagan took part in a podcast with Dr. Michael Lydon to discuss online music fandoms and mental health, drawing on her own autoethnographic study.3 An edited transcript of their conversation is published below.