A fan or fanatic, sometimes also called a fan or enthusiast, is a person who shows great interest or admiration for something or someone, such as a celebrity, sport, sports team, genre, politician, book, film. , video game or entertainment program. Collectively, the fans of a particular object or person make up its fan base or fandom. They can show their enthusiasm in a variety of ways, such as promoting an item of interest, being a member of a related fan club, hosting or participating in a fan convention, or writing a fan mail.

They may also engage in creative activities (“fan work”) such as creating fanzines, writing fanfiction, creating memes, or drawing fan art. Fans usually have a strong enough interest to make some changes in their lifestyle to accommodate devotion to the main subject. Fans have a desire for external involvement – they are motivated to demonstrate their involvement in their area of ​​interest by certain behavior.

Fans often have a “desire to acquire” tangible objects related to their area of ​​interest, such as a baseball hit by a famous hitter or a used pick from their musical hero. In addition, some fans have a desire to communicate with other fans. This again can take many forms, from casual conversations, e-mail, chats and electronic mailing lists to regular face-to-face meetings such as fan club meetings and organized gatherings.