"Story of My Life"

Abstract

Despite the boyband’s years-long hiatus, fans of One Direction (1D) continued actively engaging in fan activities. An online survey, which gathered 2,831 total responses, sought to explore fans’ motivations for participating in early 2020, more than four years after the hiatus began. The top four activities fans had recently spent the most time participating in were the following: listening to 1D music, supporting members’ solo careers, reading 1D fan fiction, and rewatching videos of/about 1D. Across activities, fans often participated because of missing the band, to feel like the band was still together, to feel closer to the band, to remember other times, and because the band had made lifelong impacts.