It’s a tough time to be a teenager. Social media is growing into a finely tuned weapon for cyberbullies, the generational gap grows deeper as technology embeds itself into our daily lives, and high school… well high school still just sucks.
On March 19, life got harder for many teenage girls. Early Monday morning, fangirls everywhere took to their phones to find devastating news. Girl group Fifth Harmony announced that at the end of the year they would be going on indefinite hiatus to pursue solo careers. This was a devastating blow to Harmonizers, especially those who had taken to ride-or-die mode after Camila Cabello’s departure.
This announcement comes years after another dark day for fangirls. Of course, I am referencing when famous boy band One Direction announced their hiatus to pursue solo careers. At the time it was announced that their split would last a mere 18 months.
Almost two years later, there are no signs of a reunion. In fact, two members have tours planned for the duration of the year. Fans are coming to terms with the fact that the group may never reunite. The phrase “1D stan” still remains in the Twitter bios of those in denial, joining Afghanistan and other stans in the graveyard of broken promises.
As hard as it is to be a fan of one of these groups right now, it is even harder to be a parent. Parents across the globe are facing the monstrous pre-pubescent girls who “just can’t even” and find themselves dealing with “all the feels.” Unable to connect, parents are hoping this is “just a phase” unlike their goth older brothers who at age 28 are still living in the basement at age 28.
Many dads find themselves totally lost. They had hoped the end of these groups would come soon, waiting for the day they could drive their daughter to school without having to look awkwardly in the rearview mirror at their little girl singing obvious sexual innuendos they don’t yet grasp. But now they aren’t sure how much longer they will be able to handle their sobbing, screaming daughters blasting harmonized break up ballads.
Deeply concerned parents of teenage girls across the globe are turning to medical professionals to get information on how to help their children through this time. Child psychologists are worried about how these two successive breakups will affect development of trust in children and teenagers. It is obvious that fans in both situations had to deal with their idols lying to their faces to garner continued support. It is feared this will make it hard for the victims to ever trust fully and deeply again. While they do further research into the subject, they encourage parents to push their kids towards solo artists or to remove music from their life all together.
Former fans of One Direction who survived their hiatus announcement are reaching out to distraught fans of Fifth Harmony to guide them through the dark days ahead of them. They are also in the process of creating a crisis hotline for fans who are considering the cardinal sin of fandoms: denouncing their stan on the internet. A spokesperson for this group of survivors, calling themselves “hiatus counselors,” would like all fans to know that it gets better, and that there is other music out there.