Intergenerational dynamics of children's music fandom: An enculturation perspective

Abstract

Music fandom forms an important part of everyday life for an increasing number of children. However, prior research has mostly ignored child audiences. Based on interviews of Finnish fans aged seven to eleven years old, I discuss the intergenerational dimensions of children's music fandom, approaching them from the perspective of fan enculturation. Children's fan activities, as well as their chances for developing more autonomous fan cultural agency, are often dependent on parents' economic and material facilitation. Moreover, music fandom may evolve into an intergenerational family practice shared by both the child(ren) and the parent(s). In this case, the child-parent relationship becomes a forum for direct fan-to-fan interaction and sharing of subcultural capital. Fan enculturation should also be understood as a multidirectional phenomenon, as children may contribute to the emergence and cultivation of their parents' fandoms.