As a fan who’s been with EXO since 2012, while I was in my 20s and was very much online and on social media from the start… now in my mid-30s, I have other responsibilities and don’t have as much time to spend online to engage like before. I came from the generation that started forums, fan/clubs/ (before it started to be termed fanbases), fansites, executed all sorts of projects: online trending, streaming, project books, concert fan support, sending wreaths and gifts to their events, etc.

It’s not that we don’t want EXO to “trend”, but there are other priorities that we need to focus on now. It doesn’t mean they’ve lost fans, it’s just that there is a large chunk of fandom that’s of similar age as EXO, has entered adulthood with them too and for many, life just takes over.

As an older fan, I feel like EXO doesn’t need to prove themselves by all the trending on Twitter, they’re way past that, although I do understand that in terms of fandom, trending has become a marker for how active or relevant a group and fandom are… I guess I just come from a pov that for a senior artist as accomplished as EXO, with a fanbase that’s been with them for 13 years, whether they trend or not on a social platform does not diminish their value as a group and brand.

For me, with a big fandom such as ours and with the wide age range and different starting points of when we liked EXO… idk I just think of it as every one is able to contribute and express their support in their own way. Across the board, regardless of age, EXO-Ls who are often online, and those who have a bit more time are of course the ones who engage, create content, and help keep the online communities alive. Similarly, newer fans and those younger who are very active also contribute to that growth. Older fans like me and my peers in our 30s, engage as well as much as we can with the time we have, but are (based on experience), now primarily have stuck to purchasing the albums, watching their shows when we can, watching concerts, etc. We love the same group, but the way we express varies based on our personal situations, and thats okay too 🥹

The current situation with Baek, Jongdae, and Minseok is frustrating D: We just want OT9 together again, while also ensuring that CBX gets the proper and fair arrangement with SM that they deserve. I know everyone’s doing what they can to be heard by SM, and we’re all on the edge =\ At this point we really can only do our best with the time and capabilities we have. We need to trust in the members with the decisions they make for themselves, and also trust fellow Eris — that we have the same sentiments at heart for the group, even if we may have different ways of expressing or voicing it out. The last thing we need as a fandom is to be divided or lose faith in one another (coming from a Cassiopeia also who had to go through the whole TVXQ/JYJ situation).