History Main / FanMyopia

* Administrivia/TropeNamerSyndrome, or attempts to name a trope after a work associated with it on the assumption that everyone will get it. There are few works -- and fewer characters -- who are so associated with a trope that they can be a TropeNamer. It's admittedly gotten a lot better compared to the site's early days, where Tropers treated the trope directory like a measure of the greatness of their favourite work based on how many tropes it named. Nowadays, thanks to the TropeLaunchPad, names like this will usually be shot down.

* Misusing PlayingWithATrope to make their favourite work look "deeper" and justify the use of "bad" tropes. A particular favourite is the {{Subversion}} and the {{Deconstruction}}, which are considered hallmarks of a clever and well-made work -- but these fans don't particularly understand what those ''are'', and thus we get examples that are Administrivia/NotASubversion and Administrivia/NotADeconstruction. UpToEleven and UrExample are also popular, as these fans like to think that their favorite work has the most ''extreme'' examples of tropes they like.

* Adding images that are Administrivia/JustAFaceAndACaption.

* Adding a comparison to your favourite work on an example from a different work, again with no context, assuming everyone will get it.

* Misusing PlayingWithATrope to make their favourite work look "deeper" and justify the use of "bad" tropes. A particular favourite is the {{Subversion}} and the {{Deconstruction}}, which are considered hallmarks of a clever and well-made work -- but these fans don't particularly understand what those ''are'', and thus we get examples that are Administrivia/NotASubversion and Administrivia/NotADeconstruction. UpToEleven and UrExample are also popular, as these fans like to think that their favourite work is the most ''extreme'' example of tropes they like.

* Finding [[ShoutOut Shout-Outs]] to your favourite work when they don't exist, and it's probably just coincidence or shoehorning. It's not very likely that every creator on Earth is as familiar with the work as you are. Literary characters are almost never {{Expies}} of your favorite anime protagonists, video game characters, or movie villains, no matter how much the description fits.
* And finally, adopting TV Tropes ''itself'' as your "favourite work" and using Troping terms [[JustForFun/TVTropesWillRuinYourVocabulary in the world at large]]. Unfortunately, no one will understand what you're saying. Sometimes our unique terminology [[ReferencedBy/TVTropes leaks out into the general public]], and that's cool and all, but we refuse to inflate our own importance to the Internet and popular culture.

* Characterizing their favourite work as superior or revolutionary with little to no justification -- they may like it more, but that doesn't mean it's really unique.

* Failing to understand that Administrivia/TropesAreTools. Fan Myopia leads to people ranking their favourite work based on how many "good tropes" and "bad tropes" it uses, when we're very clear that Administrivia/TropesAreNotBad and Administrivia/TropesAreNotGood. Fans who don't understand this tend to [[Administrivia/SquarePegRoundTrope shoehorn]] "good tropes" into their work and go to great lengths to [[Administrivia/JustifyingEdit justify]] why the work used a "bad trope" so it's not as "bad" as other works, or even deleting "bad" tropes. There's a certain paranoia that describing their favourite work accurately will [[SugarWiki/BetterThanItSounds turn readers off from it]] (not that hyping it up [[HypeBacklash will avoid that reaction]]).

* Finding {{Shout Out}}s to your favourite work when they don't exist, and it's probably just coincidence or shoehorning. It's not very likely that every creator on Earth is as familiar with the work as you are. Literary characters are almost never {{Expies}} of your favorite anime protagonists, video game characters, or movie villains, no matter how much the description fits.

A SubTrope of OpinionMyopia, the more general phenomenon of a person believing that everyone else shares their opinion about something. See also FanDumb, the natural consequence of Fan Myopia, which usually comes from total loss of perspective about the importance of one's favourite work.

* Characterising their favourite work as superior or revolutionary with little to no justification -- they may like it more, but that doesn't mean it's really unique.
* Constantly spouting {{spoiler}}s without warning. This derives from fans not understanding or caring that most people aren't so obsessive as to consume their favourite work fully at the earliest opportunity. (Or, to put it another way, unlike [[BasementDweller these guys]], some people have lives.) They assume that everyone they talk to will know everything there is to know about the work, including the spoilers. The worst manifestation of this combines it with the constant references and in-jokes, meaning that they're making spoiler jokes that might [[MemeticMutation leak out in the wild]] without the general public even ''knowing'' it's a spoiler -- and thus ruining their experience of the work if they ''do'' decide to consume it.

** Assuming the creators are as knowledgeable about the work as they are -- or, to put it another way, that they obsess over the details to the same degree. Think of the fans in the ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' "Get a Life!" sketch who are appalled that Creator/WilliamShatner doesn't remember the combination of a safe his character opened on ''[[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries Star Trek]]''.

** Assuming that the work is equally popular around the world. Different parts of the world like different things, and some things may be [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff more popular]] or [[AmericansHateTingle less popular]] outside their country of origin. Many other works are obscure outside certain countries -- this is a particular problem for {{anime}} fans, who don't realise that only a few works are well-known outside Japan, and fewer of ''those'' are well-known outside the United States, even if they are [[NoExportForYou available elsewhere]].

** Blaming cancellation, poor sales, or under-promotion of their favourite work on a [[ScrewedByTheNetwork conspiracy of haters]], and failing to realise that maybe not everyone likes it as much as they do.

* Believing that their favourite work [[TropeMaker invented]] or [[TropeCodifier codified]] a trope that was [[OlderThanTheyThink already firmly established]].

A subtrope of OpinionMyopia, the more general phenomenon of a person believing that everyone else shares their opinion about something. See also FanDumb, the natural consequence of Fan Myopia, which usually comes from total loss of perspective about the importance of one's favourite work.

Fan Myopia can lead to behaviour such as:

!!!Bad troping:

** Insisting that creators tell the story that the fans want to hear. Or, to put it another way, failing to understand that most creators are successful by not giving fans what they ask for, but something they didn't even ''know'' they wanted. Usually, this comes from obsessing over minutiae in the work and demanding that creators show ''all'' of that minutiae, even if it wouldn't be very interesting, was better left a mystery, or would destroy a story ending on the right creative note. This actually shows ''less'' respect for the work than the creator has, because it treats the work like a product that has to keep coming rather than a real creative endeavour. On the other hand, sometimes the opposite problem occurs and the fandom demands that the creator ''stop'' because the extra stuff contradicts their [[{{Fanon}} fan-made minutiae]] (usually because [[ShipSinking it wrecks their ship]]).

** Taking over for a LongRunning series' creator who suffers AuthorExistenceFailure or otherwise stops working. This means that whoever is ''actually'' newly in charge must answer to the fans or else risk their wrath for ruining their late hero's creative vision. Conveniently, said hero is dead, so the fans can insert their own {{Fanon}} into his or her mouth.

!!Tropes listed in the WikiTropes index are being discussed at the Administrivia/TropeRepairShop. Click the link [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1618086045064904400&page=1#1 here]] to join the discussion.

** Failing to understand that sometimes the creator is a ScapegoatCreator and doesn't have the power to fix the problems with the work even if they wanted to -- they might be under pressure from ExecutiveMeddling or MoralGuardians.

Fans of a particular work or medium see things differently from people who aren't fans of the same things. For instance, a fan might assume that the work they are a fan of is much better known than it actually is. Or, conversely, they might assume that nobody knows a different work simply because they and their circle never heard of it. The fan's perspective is a little warped because they are so close to certain materials and so distanced from others.

Fan myopia is aided and abetted by having a circle of friends who share a narrow interest, making it seem much less obscure than it is. The Internet can be an enabler here: If you spend all your time talking to people who are fans of the same things you like, it's easy to jump from there -- even unconsciously -- to the assumption that ''everyone'' is a fan of the same things you like.

Even when an interest is shared by a young person's entire generation, it might well be unheard of in other, older demographics and vice-versa. This, too, is a kind of fan myopia. Fan myopia also can lead to over-enthusiasm for the work and related works ("This show is the best thing ever!" "Every other medium is garbage!") and so on. This happens more easily to younger fans than older ones who have, over time, seen works come and go and who have even seen ''media'' come and go. (Anyone remember [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smell-O-Vision Smell-O-Vision]]?)

Compare OpinionMyopia, for when people feel strongly about something and expect everyone else to feel the same way. Getting too blinded by Fan Myopia can lead to FanDumb; all the variations of Fan Dumb, after all, are essentially caused by the fan in question having simply lost perspective on exactly how important something in the fandom is.

Fan Myopia can lead to behaviors such as:

* Believing that their favorite work [[TropeMaker invented]] or [[TropeCodifier codified]] a trope that was [[OlderThanTheyThink already firmly established]].
* [[WeirdAlEffect Failing to realize]] that a joke in their favorite comedy is [[ShoutOut actually a reference]] to something that was [[OlderThanTheyThink already famous]]. Usually an effect of being too young to have known the source of the reference, but definitely a kind of myopia.
* Failing to understand why a cherished TV show was canceled, or why a book, movie, or video game doesn't sell highly, when in fact hardly anyone was interested in it aside from its cult fanbase. It's even conceivable that it wasn't ScrewedByTheNetwork, but rather it simply didn't draw enough interest to stay afloat.
* Failing to understand how one can be just a [[StopHavingFunGuys "casual fan"]] of a particular work. [[ComplainingAboutPeopleNotLikingTheShow Or, indeed, not a fan at all]].
* Being appalled when the creator or writer of a show/song/book doesn't know as much as the fan knows about their work, and seemingly isn't interested in something they wrote or starred in many years earlier. Perhaps an effect of assuming that the creator shares exactly the [[FanDisillusionment same attitudes]] as the fans. This can lead to fans thinking they know the show better than the people who created it. Also leads to accusations of [[ItsPopularNowItSucks selling out]] just because somebody stopped writing obscure cult music or TV and became more mainstream. Parodied on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' in the famous "Get A Life!" sketch with Creator/WilliamShatner. In the sketch, a Trekkie brings up the scene from the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "This Side of Paradise" when Kirk gets his effects out of a safe. It turns out the fan wants to know what the combination on the safe was and, of course, Shatner has no clue.
* Making demands that an actor must "give to fans" by doing conventions or DVD commentaries, or demands that actors become as fannish as fans and always refer to the work as the highlight of their career. Notorious examples of actors being bashed by certain fans for not being fannish: Creator/SarahMichelleGellar by ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' fans, Creator/ChristopherEccleston by ''Series/DoctorWho'' fans, Josette Simon by ''Series/BlakesSeven'' fans.
* Telling their fandom [[InJoke in-jokes]] constantly, seemingly unaware that most of the people who are listening/reading won't understand what they are running on about.
* Assuming that their favored work (or media, or genre, etc.) is superior to and/or "different" from all other similar types of work, media, or genre, not realizing that their favored work (or media, or genre, etc.) is, in fact, very similar to all similar works.
* Assuming that the work is known worldwide, or even available worldwide in the first place. For an example, lots of {{anime}} series which are known in the United States and Japan aren't well known outside. It may be surprising for fans to hear that series like ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' and ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' aren't that well known outside a few selected countries, or even in the countries where they ''are'' available.
* Assuming that the work is a best-seller and more popular than it actually is, ignoring that sometimes, it can be an AcclaimedFlop or even [[VindicatedByHistory that the fandom didn't exist until after its market run]] This is especially the case with a CultClassic.
* Assuming that, in works with known fanbases in multiple countries and regions, that it's equally popular everywhere (And [[ValuesDissonance for the same reasons]]), when [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff some things may be more]] ([[AmericansHateTingle or less]]) popular in different parts of the world. Thus things that appeal to certain parts of the world (Especially its "home territory") but aren't as popular elsewhere for whatever reason aren't taking "The fans" into account, when they actually ''are''. Sometimes? The international fans are just a PeripheryDemographic.
* Relatedly, assuming that all the details of the work are widely known to the general public through PopCultureOsmosis. OK, even someone who has never seen anything with ''Franchise/StarWars'' in the title could probably[[labelnote:*]](if born more recently than, say, UsefulNotes/WorldWarII)[[/labelnote]] still tell you the name of the bad guy in the black armour, but there can be the tendency to assume that one's own favourite shows are equally well-known (or at least to pretend to assume, when really we just want to feel smarter for knowing about it) and thus that everybody knows who, for instance, [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Shinji]] is. This is most visible with cult series and foreign-exported works, but you can even find this with the big super-famous franchises, when fans assume that the general public not only knows the basic gist of the work but also the minutiae. To return to our ''Star Wars'' example, a myopic fan might assume that not only does everyone know that the big scary dude in black is Darth Vader, but also that the bald cyborg guy who sometimes hangs out with Lando (remember that guy?) is named Lobot.
* With respect to certain franchises, fans may occasionally assume the position of "We are your customers and the customers know what they want". Or they may play various appeal cards such as "You wouldn't be here if it weren't for us fans so it belongs to us as much as you".
* A related phenomenon is assuming that one's own forum or subset of the community is an accurate representation of the fandom as a whole. While there are some ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' fans who would just love it if Harry and Draco were to have angsty sex in the shower, most readers seem to agree with the author that the story was fine without it -- indeed, that it would have been baffling, and that catering to the {{shipping}} community would probably alienate quite a few of the ''other'' fans... plenty of whom will have no idea that there even ''is'' such a thing as "shipping", or "{{fanfic}}" or "{{fanon}}". Some might actually enjoy works for the plot, or the characters... and show appreciation by discussion or promoting it.
* Relatedly, fans of international properties often display ignorance at how translation and localisation works, assuming that things are one-to-one translations when this is borderline impossible to do in real life. Jokes, characters, and even entire plot points have wound up changed during translation - sometimes intentionally, sometimes [[BlindIdiotTranslation not]], and [[{{Woolseyism}} sometimes for the better]]. While this can lead to [[DubInducedPlothole some legitimate]] [[LostInTranslation problems with the work]], this can just as often lead to [[MisBlamed misinformation]] being spread across the fanbase. It's very common for fans to SpiceUpTheSubtitles, which has led to some people reading official translation(s) and crying censorship when there wasn't any ObligatorySwearing or random sex jokes. A lot of fans are surprised to find the majority of a fanbase doesn't actually understand the native language - or that the work isn't even available (in its native language, or at ''all'') in all parts of the world.
* Assuming a ScapegoatCreator has more power than they actually do. For example, fans assume that a distributor or a publisher of a work is the one who created it, when in fact their involvement may have been as little as simply translating and marketing it in a specific region of the world. And while this may result in changes such as the above, they may actually be requested ''not'' by MoralGuardians but by the creators themselves for various reasons. (Such as in order to comply with regional law.)
* Insisting that creators and producers should tell the story that the fans want to tell. This story might be a story highlighting their favorite underrepresented character. Or a story that answers certain unanswered questions, shows a backstory, GreatOffscreenWar or NoodleIncident which was never meant to be shown, or providing closure to a character or incomplete or open ended story. For example, many ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' fans are still demanding a canonical final fate for the surviving original characters (while the surviving actors who played them are still alive). This mentality tends to disrupt the artistic integrity of the franchise in question due to the fan (not creator) tendency to treat their favorite franchise as if it were just a product to them (as it is for the studios and sponsors). To less impassioned fans, unanswered questions, ambiguous endings, and interesting characters or subplots that don't get enough screentime can be integral parts of any story and force us to use our imagination to fill in the blanks. And beloved characters leave the stage when their story has been told.
* Related to the above is the inverse; not wanting a story to be told the way it is intended to be or should be told just because it clashes with the fan's preferred story, no matter how unlikely it is that their preferred story will ever happen. For example, fans of a particular shipping pairing naturally want their preferred ship to hook up as quickly and painlessly as possible, and would be perfectly content if the series was nothing but them cuddling on the sofa making out. However, if that pairing were to get together straight away with absolutely no complications, hardships or difficulties whatsoever, the story of their romance wouldn't be a particularly exciting or interesting one. Any difficulties they might face, however, will result in a chorus of pained howling. And that's in the case of the OfficialCouple; those who follow a pairing [[CrackPairing that has no chance in hell of ever happening]] can react even more passionately when the creators try to remind them that [[ShipSinking it's never going to happen]], even if there are perfectly sound and logical reasons ''why'' it's never going to happen. Similarly, those who have built up a particular piece of {{Fanon}} up to the point where they're convinced it's fundamental to the story can react with genuine betrayal if the storyteller casually takes a direction that [[{{Jossed}} completely wipes the Fanon out of existence]]. A good example of this is some fans' outcry when Creator/JKRowling's more in depth look at the mercenary and sadistic Goblin culture in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'' clashed with their built up fandom belief of a more honor-bound and glorified society.
* With franchises that last several generations, it is inevitable that the reins of power over creation and production will be passed on to new individuals, some of whom may not have been born when the franchise began and are tasked with keeping said franchise up to date and relevant. Typically, the original creator/producer is deceased so fans take it upon themselves to decide whether or not he/she would approve of the direction the current producer is taking with his/her creation. This includes the obvious nerd fare like ''Franchise/StarTrek'', but also -- and somewhat surprisingly -- kids' shows like ''WesternAnimation/ThomasTheTankEngine''. This can also happen with comics, and even some book series see a change of author when they are popular enough.
* In anticipation of angry reactions to the above sentence, refusing to acknowledge that a work was intended for children. Many perfectly respectable works were intended for children, and many of them are still enjoyable when you're an adult, yes, but (to pick some random examples) ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' and ''WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM'' were still kids' shows, and acknowledging that doesn't reduce the work's quality. In fact, one might even argue that attracting a PeripheryDemographic is a symptom of ''higher'' quality.
* Overestimating the amount of free time other fans of a series or just potential audience members have to actually go out and read/watch/play a certain work and spouting off {{Spoiler}}s to such individuals who were planning to eventually experience the work unspoiled. Yes, there are certain ItWasHisSled situations where it is impossible to go into a work without knowing major plot twists, but the myopic fan assumes that ''any'' work whose plot ''they'' know about is fair game to discuss and spoil to anyone else, no matter how recent or how little chance the other person has had to see it, possibly even telling the other person "I just spoiled something, but it's your fault for not having already seen the movie/show." When this comes to video games, this [[CasualCompetitiveConflict created its own trope]]. A great example of this behavior is the ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure'' fandom. who are infamous for using spoiler heavy scenes and character deaths in memes. To the point where spoilers show up in unrelated fandoms and communities. If you spend enough time in any anime fandom or meme community you could run into a Jojo spoiler and not even know about it.
* When a franchise has been around long enough to be remade in [[DerivativeWork several different incarnations]], or even [[TheFilmOfTheBook several forms of media]], myopic fans of one particular iteration may insist that theirs is the only ''good'' version and all the others [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks are changed, so they suck]]. Or to further enrage a BrokenBase, [[OlderThanTheyThink they may not even know about the other versions]].


Tropers are not immune to Fan Myopia, nor do they claim to be. Indeed, much of this wiki could not have come about if it weren't for zealous fans of television and other media. However, generalizing from your own experience is usually a bad idea. Assuming that other people know more than they do can result in incomprehensible attempts at TwoWordsAddedEmphasis or similar, or telling the world that the ending to something is ItWasHisSled when it wasn't, really.

!!!Bad troping:
* Administrivia/NotSelfExplanatory: Citing examples of characters or episodes without explaining what work they're talking about, because "surely everyone knows what I'm referring to". ("''[[VideoGame/{{Action52}} Cheetahmen II]]''. Nuff said.")
* Committing the infamous "How could this trope go so long without mentioning Show X?" Administrivia/WordCruft.

* [[Administrivia/TropeNamerSyndrome Trying to suggest new tropes that are named after a character or quote from their favorite work]], without realizing that people unfamiliar with the work will not understand the trope name or quote, or without realizing that ''most people on the planet'' are in fact unfamiliar with that work. Fortunately, most of these tropes nowadays will be bombed on TLP until they are renamed.
* Instead of writing the work's name, {{Pot Hol|e}}ing the characters/situations/quotes [[Administrivia/{{Sinkhole}} to the work's page]] out of the belief that it's so Administrivia/SelfExplanatory that ''everyone's'' seen it and knows instantly who or what is being discussed. ("[[Anime/DragonBallZ Vegeta]] does this trope...") More justified when the work name and character name [[CharacterTitle are the same thing]], but in that case the name should be italicized (e.g., instead of "Manga/{{Akagi}} does this trope...", it should be "''Manga/{{Akagi}}'' does this trope...")
* Using the phrase "in a recent episode", which [[Administrivia/ExamplesAreNotRecent is useless to anyone who doesn't know what the episode is, and dates quickly]]. It's better to use the episode's title and/or number if you know it, or just "in an/one episode" if you don't.
* Quoting or referencing a work on a page that has nothing to do with it, out of the assumption that everyone will get the reference.
* Assuming that a show which provides a {{subversion}} or {{deconstruction}} of a particular trope is somehow automatically superior to a show which doesn't -- and, by extension, that their favourite show is a subversion / deconstruction of this trope when it's Administrivia/NotASubversion and Administrivia/NotADeconstruction. Remember, Administrivia/TropesAreNotBad. When they can't find a way to shoehorn their trope into a subversion or deconstruction, they'll insist that Administrivia/TropesAreTools to reassure readers that ''this'' example isn't as bad as the others, out of paranoia that readers might be turned off from the show otherwise.
* Assuming that their favored work (or media, or genre, etc.) is the ultimate example of everything -- or at least, the ultimate example of everything the fan thinks is good. On this wiki, at least, this tends to lead to misguided {{Entry Pimp}}ing and forced attempts to present the show as an example of a particular [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools 'good' trope]] even if the show in question does not actually use or reflect that trope, whilst over-protectively Administrivia/{{justifying|Edit}} or even outright deleting a show's entry in [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools a 'bad' trope]] regardless of how fair or accurate the example from the show is.
* Mentioning a specific example from a series without indicating in what episode/book it appeared, making it hard to look up exactly where it happened.
* Comparing an example with a similar example from another series, with implications that they will know because it's ''so'' widespread.
* Adding an example without mentioning what series it's from.
* Adding an example [[Administrivia/ZeroContextExample without explaining why it's an example]].
* Neglecting to put spoiler tags on major twists in a work under the assumption that [[ItWasHisSled others are already familiar with those plot twists]].
* Using a lot of jargon in an entry that makes it impossible to understand for anyone who doesn't already know what it means -- don't assume that, for example [[VideoGame/{{Dota 2}} "Use Pudge's hook from the jungle at a top-lane carry using his ult for an epic gank"]] makes sense to everyone (or for that matter, ''anyone'').
* Listing the name of a fanfic on a trope's examples list without clarifying what it's a fanfic of.[[note]]With the exception of fanfics whose names make it clear; e.g, starting with "Franchise/HarryPotter and the..." or similar.[[/note]]
* [[JustForFun/TVTropesWillRuinYourVocabulary Using (certain) trope names in locales other than TV Tropes.]][[note]]Another website, Reddit, has a similar problem with people using jargon like "subreddit" and "r/" outside of Reddit.[[/note]]
* Assuming that creators are making references or allusions to other works you are familiar with, when a coincidence is more likely. Literary characters are almost never {{Expies}} of your favorite anime protagonists, video game characters, or movie villains, no matter how much the description fits, unless they actually have a creator in common.

* Assuming that the work somehow "transcends" other examples of the genre simply because they are fans of it.

* Overestimating the amount of free time other fans of a series or just potential audience members have to actually go out and read/watch/play a certain work and spouting off {{Spoiler}}s to such individuals who were planning to eventually experience the work unspoiled. Yes, there are certain ItWasHisSled situations where it is impossible to go into a work without knowing major plot twists, but the myopic fan assumes that ''any'' work whose plot ''they'' know about is fair game to discuss and spoil to anyone else, no matter how recent or how little chance the other person has had to see it, possibly even telling the other person "I just spoiled something, but it's your fault for not having already seen the movie/show." When this comes to video games, this [[CasualCompetitiveConflict created its own trope]]. A great example of this behavior is the ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure'' fandom who are infamous for using out of context scenes loaded with spoilers as well as character deaths in memes, vilifying "Part skippers" for skipping to portions of the story that haven't been ruined for them. If you spend enough time in any anime fandom or meme community you could run into a spoiler meme and not even know about it.

* Overestimating the amount of free time other fans of a series or just potential audience members have to actually go out and read/watch/play a certain work and spouting off {{Spoiler}}s to such individuals who were planning to eventually experience the work unspoiled. Yes, there are certain ItWasHisSled situations where it is impossible to go into a work without knowing major plot twists, but the myopic fan assumes that ''any'' work whose plot ''they'' know about is fair game to discuss and spoil to anyone else, no matter how recent or how little chance the other person has had to see it, possibly even telling the other person "I just spoiled something, but it's your fault for not having already seen the movie/show." When this comes to video games, this [[CasualCompetitiveConflict created its own trope]].

* In anticipation of angry reactions to the above sentence, refusing to acknowledge that a work was intended for children. Many perfectly respectable works were intended for children, and many of them are still enjoyable when you're an adult, yes, but (to pick some random examplea) ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' and ''WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM'' were still kids' shows, and acknowledging that doesn't reduce the work's quality. In fact, one might even argue that attracting a PeripheryDemographic is a symptom of ''higher'' quality.

* In anticipation of angry reactions to the above sentence, refusing to acknowledge that a work was intended for children. Many perfectly respectable works were intended for children, and many of them are still enjoyable when you're an adult, yes, but (to pick some random examplea) ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' and ''WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM'' were still a kids' shows, and acknowledging that doesn't reduce the work's quality. In fact, one might even argue that attracting a PeripheryDemographic is a symptom of ''higher'' quality.

* In anticipation of angry reactions to the above sentence, refusing to acknowledge that a work was intended for children. Many perfectly respectable works were intended for children, and many of them are still enjoyable when you're an adult, yes, but (to pick a random example) ''WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM'' was still a kids' show, and acknowledging that doesn't reduce the work's quality. In fact, one might even argue that attracting a PeripheryDemographic is a symptom of ''higher'' quality.

Even when an interest is shared by a young person's entire generation, it might well be unheard of in other, older demographics and vice-versa. This, too, is a kind of fan myopia. Fan myopia also can lead to over-enthusiasm for the work and related works ("This show is the best thing ever!" "Every other medium is garbage!") and so on. This happens more easily to younger fans than older ones who have, over time, seen works come and go and who have even seen ''media'' come and go. (Anyone remember [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smell-O-Vision Smell-O-Vision]]?)

* In anticipation of angry reactions to the above sentence, refusing to acknowledge that a work was intended for children. Many perfectly respectable works were intended for children, and many of them are still enjoyable when you're an adult, yes, but (to pick a random example) ''WesternAnimation/SonicSatAM'' was still a kids' show, and acknowledging that doesn't reduce the work's quality. In fact, one might even argue that attracting a PeripheryDemographic is a symptom of ''higher'' quality.