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Do people become MJ fans when they're children or there is really no age limit?

StarlightXX

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I'm still regretful to admit I didn't become a true MJ fan till I was 14. Although I have heard his songs Thriller, Stranger In Moscow and Black And White as a child, I didn't familiarise with him till my teens.

Then I hear stories of people becoming MJ fans when they're a child. How common is this and do some people become fans from their teen (not tween) years?
 
I was like 9 or 10. I do think it's quite unlikely anybody would become a fan after about 40.

Would be good to have a poll "what age did you become a fan? 5-10, 11-15, 16-20 etc"
 
R1chard said:
I was like 9 or 10. I do think it's quite unlikely anybody would become a fan after about 40.

Would be good to have a poll "what age did you become a fan? 5-10, 11-15, 16-20 etc"
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There's no person who's over 40 that hasn't been introduced to Michael. So you're either already a fan or not. If we were talking for a newer artist like The Weeknd, then this type of discussion would be fitting.
 
That's what I mean. You're generally aware of MJ from a young age. Somebody who knew MJ songs at age 15 doesn't wait 30 years and then suddenly become a fan at age 45.

Really, people don't become fans of any artist much after the age of about 30.
 
Hello everyone. I am lurking over this community since a while and I decided to finally enter...
I became a fan of MJ at 46 yrs old and a half.
I love music, but I was never a true fan of anyone in particular, maybe I had two posters in high school with Metallica and Sepultura.
With MJ I don't know, I mean his magic is alive and radiant and in less than 2 yrs my room is full with ,,him,, as in pictures, at my working place I have a picture with him and I will continue to add desired items to my collection of books and dvd in time. He popped up in my life when all my world started to change. He was and he is the shoulder and strength that I need. For all time.
 
blackbird said:
Hello everyone. I am lurking over this community since a while and I decided to finally enter...
I became a fan of MJ at 46 yrs old and a half.
I love music, but I was never a true fan of anyone in particular, maybe I had two posters in high school with Metallica and Sepultura.
With MJ I don't know, I mean his magic is alive and radiant and in less than 2 yrs my room is full with ,,him,, as in pictures, at my working place I have a picture with him and I will continue to add desired items to my collection of books and dvd in time. He popped up in my life when all my world started to change. He was and he is the shoulder and strength that I need. For all time.
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Welcome. Thanks for joining!
 
When MJ died I was six years old, and I remember hearing the name “Michael Jackson” all the time. I wanted to know who he was. Shortly after he died my dad bought his “Number Ones” CD. I begged to keep it for myself! My dad also showed me some of Michael’s short films: “Beat It”, “Thriller” (I was fascinated by the “yellow eyes”), “Bad” and “Black or White”. MJ, his music, and his short films bring me back to simpler times. Today, he is still my favorite. My dedication to listening to him ebbs and flows, but I’m proud to say that he has been my #1 Spotify artist every year!
 
R1chard said:
I was like 9 or 10. I do think it's quite unlikely anybody would become a fan after about 40.

Would be good to have a poll "what age did you become a fan? 5-10, 11-15, 16-20 etc"
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My mum became a fan when she was 53 going on 54. She likens MJ to classic entertainers like Charlie Chaplin and Jerry Lewis. She and I and my then-19 year old sister saw This Is It in the cinemas multiple times.
 
Thatkliqkid said:
And what, anyone over 30 can't find new things? new artists? :rolleyes:
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Yes, pretty much. It's teenagers who buy (well, stream) all the music. They absolutely dominate record sales vs every other age group. People become a lot less open to new stuff as they get older. That's why magazines like Smash Hits were always aimed at schoolchildren, and why TV shows like Top Of The Pops barely had anybody over the age of about 20 in the audience. That's just the way it is.

Like, I'm not saying you won't be able to find one anecdote of somebody who was 109 who got into something, I'm just saying it doesn't matter because the numbers are so small.

When you ask people their favourite song/album of all time, they will nearly always say something that was released when they were a teenager. But, depending on the audience of the people asking the question, the lists are always dominated by recent releases (because younger people do all the voting).
 
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StarlightXX said:
My mum became a fan when she was 53 going on 54. She likens MJ to classic entertainers like Charlie Chaplin and Jerry Lewis. She and I and my then-19 year old sister saw This Is It in the cinemas multiple times.
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Was it TII that got your Mum into Michael or was she already on board by then?

R1chard said:
I was like 9 or 10. I do think it's quite unlikely anybody would become a fan after about 40.
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Maybe it depends on what you mean by 'fan'. I don't identify as a fan but in the last 12 months or so I've got into Olivia Rodrigo, Taylor Swift, Laufey - to mention just 3. I don't put huge amounts of time into chasing down new music. A lot of the 'new' music I listen to these days is music I didn't have time for back in the day. Or stuff I was aware of but mostly ignored and now have a different appreciation of. But I do check out new artists and bands pretty often. I'm the same age as Michael but you don't lose your love of music, ime.
 
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R1chard said:
Yes, pretty much. It's teenagers who buy (well, stream) all the music. They absolutely dominate record sales vs every other age group. People become a lot less open to new stuff as they get older. That's why magazines like Smash Hits were always aimed at schoolchildren, and why TV shows like Top Of The Pops barely had anybody over the age of about 20 in the audience. That's just the way it is.

Like, I'm not saying you won't be able to find one anecdote of somebody who was 109 who got into something, I'm just saying it doesn't matter because the numbers are do small.
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Maybe we just can't be arsed to talk about it. We don't have anything to prove, lol. 🤷‍♀️
 
Thatkliqkid said:
What nonsense.
You can hear a song at 14 and not become a part of a fandom until much older.
and what, anyone over 30 can't find new things? new artists? :rolleyes:
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Studies have shown that most people stop exploring new music/artists entirely by the time they reach their mid-30s.

This is called the mere exposure effect theory, which generally means that the more familiar you are with something and the more often you are exposed to it, then the more you tend to like it.

This applies also to listening to music.

When you were in your teens, you were listening to your favourite music, you were exposed to it along with your friends, etc, and you became familiar with that music.

After your mid-30s, you tend to still listen to your favourite music (of your teen period) because it connects you to a simpler and more carefree time and place of your life, rather than trying to explore and become a fan of new music/artists.
 
Mister_Jay_Tee said:
I literally spend more time searching for new music than just the same old same old.
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The more I think about this the more I realise this is exactly what I do. Tbf, some of the 'new' music I listen to is obscure (that is, obscure to me!) jazz and blues stuff from the 30's and 40's. Some of it is stuff from the 70's which I just didn't pick up on at the time. But a lot of it is truly new, C21 music. The only reason I don't think of myself as really doing this is bc I don't tend to analyse my own behaviour. But I def listen to or search out more new music than I do listen to old stuff. It just feels completely natural so it kinda didn't register with me, lol. It's basically Michael and then lots of new stuff.

Michaels Lover said:
Yeah, but are you over 30? If not, your comment is not relevant
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Fair point. Not sure if Mr JT does but I definitely qualify! :ROFLMAO:
 
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mj_frenzy said:
Studies have shown that most people stop exploring new music/artists entirely by the time they reach their mid-30s.
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Never heard of it, and certainly not true for me. I rarely listen to the music I used to listen to as a teenager. My taste is music has evolved over time, and so has for lot of my other friends. I had obviously heard of Michael as a child, but became a fan much later in 2022 to be exact :) .

blackbird said:
He popped up in my life when all my world started to change. He was and he is the shoulder and strength that I need. For all time.
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Same here! Welcome to the community.
 
R1chard said:
I dunno. It's a widely recognised psychological trend. Google it and you'll find heaps of research
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Nostalgic, yes, like nostalgic about place where one grows up, about college days. But that does not mean one cannot develop new interests in their 30s/40s, and that includes developing new interests in music
 
I fell in love with Michael at the age of 10 and a half! I don't think age is an important parameter for there to be love at first sight but the question remains interesting anyway ❤️
 
Hiker said:
but became a fan much later in 2022 to be exact :) .


Same here! Welcome to the community.
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Thank you :). For me it was late October 2021. I knew abt him but never caught my full attention, indifferent let's say. Before Michael, except for Tool ( I love Maynard's voice and passion, but since Michael it's like I found The voice) I only listened movies soundtracks and here and there a song that caught my attention in some movie or TV series, and this for several yrs.
Nice finally ,,knowing,, you; you, Zinnia and the adorable staywild are the ones that made me jump in here finally.
 
blackbird said:
[...] except for Tool ( I love Maynard's voice and passion
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:)

blackbird said:
[...] Nice finally ,,knowing,, you; you, Zinnia and the adorable staywild are the ones that made me jump in here finally.
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👋 Hey!

I love your story, I think it's fab. It's not that I'm dismissing the academic studies that have been done telling us that many people mostly stick to the music from their teen years. It's more that I think ... that's not the whole story, not even close.

blackbird said:
[...] the adorable staywild are the ones that made me jump in here finally.
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I think she's fab. Crazy energy, crazy enthusiasm! Love it! :D
 
zinniabooklover said:
:)


👋 Hey!

I love your story, I think it's fab. It's not that I'm dismissing the academic studies that have been done telling us that many people mostly stick to the music from their teen years. It's more that I think ... that's not the whole story, not even close.


I think she's fab. Crazy energy, crazy enthusiasm! Love it! :D
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Dear Zinnia, after all these academic studies are made by ppl with better ...wording.
I am expressing myself a little bit reserved, my own story reg MJ is very personal, it's a journey, plus English is not my native language.
Sometimes I wish to have known MJ when I was I child. The love and feeling of protection encapsuled in his voice, it would had been so good.
Well, she is, I totally understand her, I love MJ in all eras, but as she said ,,nothing will stay between me and Bad era,,...bring it on girl, when my shyness will fade away.
 
blackbird said:
Dear Zinnia, after all these academic studies are made by ppl with better ...wording.
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Possibly. But there is also the fact that we never get told how many people are in the studies. How were the questions worded? Was there any follow-up? Who was funding the research and did that influence the possible results? How representative was the group of people that were invited to take part? Etc etc. Those studies are fine as far as they go. They are not the whole story, imo.

blackbird said:
I am expressing myself a little bit reserved, my own story reg MJ is very personal, it's a journey,
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I agree. This will sound bonkers, considering I've been on MJJC for almost 2 years, but I've realised I don't really want to talk about Michael. Not properly, anyway. It's far too personal and private. It's not that I'm having mad, wild fantasies about him. It's much more sober than that, lol. But it's my Michael story and I'm not that keen on setting out every last detail of it even on this board.

If that makes sense!

blackbird said:
plus English is not my native language.
Sometimes I wish to have known MJ when I was I child. The love and feeling of protection encapsuled in his voice, it would had been so good.
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In the end we get to appreciate Michael at exactly the right time. I honestly believe that. I've been into Michael since J5 but my interest has definitely ebbed and flowed differently at different times. And I'm fine with that. My love affair with him really exploded with Thriller bc that's when he really blossomed as a dancer. OTW was a very quiet time for me since I'm not mad keen on that album. So it's been interesting. He is so many things for me. He just means so much but I wouldn't ever want to try to explain what I mean by that.

blackbird said:
Well, she is, I totally understand her, I love MJ in all eras, but as she said ,,nothing will stay between me and Bad era,,...bring it on girl, when my shyness will fade away.
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Yeah, staywild is the business! :love:

The Bad era? BWT 1987 for me! 😲

Brisbane 1987 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🔥
 
zinniabooklover said:
Possibly. But there is also the fact that we never get told how many people are in the studies. How were the questions worded? Was there any follow-up? Who was funding the research and did that influence the possible results? How representative was the group of people that were invited to take part? Etc etc. Those studies are fine as far as they go. They are not the whole story,
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Totally agree
 
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