Are superfans happier than the rest of us?
Joe Blake kicked off his first dating-app chat with Missy Gosbee by inquiring about her favorite “Star Wars" movie. “Episode V," she instantly told him. (Nonfan translation: “The Empire Strikes Back.") Soon they were spending her birthdays watching 13-hour “Star Wars" marathons, munching on “Star Wars"-themed food from her collection of “Star Wars"-themed cookbooks.
Between the two of them, they have 12 lightsabers. So to pick a date for their wedding this year, only one felt right. On May the Fourth, they wed near Detroit, exiting the ceremony to music from the original 1977 film, under an arch of glowing lightsabers held aloft by their guests.
“Once I finally truly let myself go to it," the now Mrs. Blake says of embracing her passion for “Star Wars," “I met this world of other people." From the outside, it’s easy to roll our eyes at devotees of everything from Taylor Swift to “Star Trek." We deem them nerdy or frivolous, judge their costumes, the time they waste on Reddit, the money they spend on concert tickets. What if they’ve figured out something the rest of us haven’t? After all, so many of us lack community.
Data from Cigna finds 58% of Americans are lonely. Religion is fading. Work doesn’t love us back.
Maybe letting ourselves be obsessed with that highly specific and possibly weird thing we love is the answer. While reporting this column, I heard stories of childlike wonder, deep meaning and bonds forged with people around the globe. May Naidoo, a British Ph.D.
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