In My Voting Era: How Taylor Swift Fans Mobilise on Social Media for Collective Action – James Rodgers - Social Media, Communities, & Networks Conference 2026: Semester 1 & SP1

In My Voting Era: How Taylor Swift Fans Mobilise on Social Media for Collective Action – James Rodgers

Posted on

27/04/2026

People form connections and communities through social media, especially around popular culture. For the case study, I have chosen to focus on the Taylor Swift fandom. Specifically, this presentation addresses how Taylor Swift fans mobilise and drive collective action on social media. I will argue that these fans form connections by engaging in fan activities on social media which makes them effective at collective action, sharing examples from platforms such as Reddit, TikTok, and Twitter (X).

References

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Kim, I. (2024). Photo of Irene Kim. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy4d3y0kl4eo

r/TaylorSwift.(2026). Reddit. Retrieved from https://www.reddit.com/r/TaylorSwift/

Shiz [@epic_shiz]. (2024, January 26). No true swifty will pass without liking And commenting Protect Taylor Swift Let’s get it trending [Images attached] [Post]. X. https://x.com/Epic_shiz/status/1750842541518561663

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Swifties For Hope [@Swifties4Hope]. (2024, September 11). An announcement from the desk of the #SwiftiesForKamala Department: [Image attached] [Post] X. https://x.com/Swifties4Hope/status/1833739222320345292

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Voters of Tomorrow [@voterstomorrow]. (2022, November 18). Gen Z has never been a fan of monopolies, but now that they’ve brought Taylor into this… [Images attached] [Post]. X. https://x.com/VotersTomorrow/status/1593369743104303105

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Comments

One response to “In My Voting Era: How Taylor Swift Fans Mobilise on Social Media for Collective Action – James Rodgers”

Jacinta M

01/05/2026

Hi James, I enjoyed watching your presentation, it was refreshing to see a different take on the Taylor Swift fandom and how they form connections through fan activities.

1. In your presentation, you mentioned that Taylor Swifts fans use social media to share political messages and promote voting, how do you think this translates into real-world action? Do you think it mostly says within the Swiftie community or does it actually impact voter turnout?

2. You highlighted the strong sense of community among the Swifties in your video. Could this kind of mobilisation still happen without the Taylor Swift connection or is the shared sense of identity what drives fans to get involved?

3. You discussed fan-lead activism, but focused mainly on the positive impacts. Could there be any risks or downsides of this kind of activism? For example, over-reliance on celebrity influence or misinformation?

I look forward to your answers!

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Social Media, Communities, & Networks Conference 2026: Semester 1 & SP1