I'm a Taylor Swift superfan now?

I got caught up in the hype and listened to Taylor's latest album.

I like it; I'm at the age where I'm drawn to music that celebrates love and winning at life.

After listening, I observed that what my social media started serving up was completely different than the day before. Suddenly, 90% of the videos are about Taylor or the album, taking me deeper into her Universe.

Am I becoming a Swiftie?

Based on what I'm seeing, everyone in the world loves Taylor and this new album is the. best. ever. In this fandom vacuum, I'm encouraged to dislike Charli XCX (who even is that?!), celebrate the genius of the lyrics, and the endless mysteries embedded within.

And yet, I know this isn't true. Most people I know probably don't know even about the new album, much less care. They aren't in my information funnel - but they are in their own.

I'm reminded of conversations I had with conservative folks after Charlie Kirk was killed.

I heard one consistent refrain - "I only ever heard Charlie saying respectful, loving things."

My gutted reaction was "WHAT?!"

I had literally ONLY heard him say things that were racist, homophobic, misogynistic (and so on forever).

But those folks were living in the fandom Universe of Kirk - the one that fed them all of the positive clips, reviews, and encouragements.

Now, before you yell at me, I'm not denying their own responsibility for getting the whole story - or perhaps hearing the whole story, but only remembering the good parts. Yet, in the age of information overwhelm and controlled media, none of us are getting the whole story.

And, my gosh, is it easier to only pay attention to the parts that we want to hear.

Well, it turns out I'm not a Swiftie despite what my phone tells me.

But I learned a lot about them, and their view of the world, when the algorithm changed.

And, I was reminded how vulnerable we can be to getting initiated into a Universe that we didn't choose.