What is “Weverse” that is criticized by BTS fans and strongly opposed by SEVENTEEN fans when hearing that their idols is about to join this social network?
After the news that SEVENTEEN will be the next artists to join Weverse after BTS, TXT and GFRIEND, the fandom of the group has expressed their extreme anger.
Recently, the rumor of Big Hit Entertainment acquiring Pledis Entertainment has been causing a stir among the Kpop fan community. If it’s true, the two top Kpop boygroups today, BTS and SEVENTEEN will “be under the same roof” and Big Hit will soon expand its power.
One of the signs that Pledis is about to become a part of Big Hit is that recently, in a Big Hit event, the company announced that SEVENTEEN will be the next artists to join Weverse. The network allows fans and idols to interact directly with each other through posts. This is considered the exclusive social network of Big Hit, their artists such as BTS, TXT and recently GFRIEND have also joined.
However, this information has faced a wave of intense criticism by the Carat community (SEVENTEEN fandom) when their idols have to join an insecure network like the Weverse.
So what is Weverse and why is the fan of the Pledis boygroup so angry?
ARMYs (BTS’s fandom), who use this social network the most, know that Weverse is a social networking application that allows artists and fans to interact directly with each other through posts. It is where fans can freely upload posts and artists can comment directly these posts.
This has the good side that everyone can see, it is to make the interaction between fans and idols easier than before and shorten the geographical and linguistic gap. Every fan in the world can use this platform with just one smartphone.
However, after a short time, although the platform is still working well and is popular with ARMYs, there have been problems with this platform. Artists can comment on any post so it gradually became a battle to “win” the attention of idols, a series of posts with mocking content and jokes were posted like a flood. Some fans even went overboard without a censorship department from the platform.
Moreover, with a platform that allows fans to upload posts continuously, it is inevitably that one day there will be a lot of negative contents uploaded, or people will even take advantage of the viral nature of the platform to make profits. BTS members have also commented that they will not leave the posts that went overboard alone.
That is the biggest reason why SEVENTEEN fans strongly opposed to the group joining Weverse, because all of the interactions between the group and Carat is still very stable on the fancafe platform. “Fancafe” is a concept that is not new to Kpop fans, this is a paid platform and has strict rules for users. This makes it easier for the idol and the agency to manage the fandom’s activities.
The paid platform will surely attract fewer users than a free platform and surely using a free platform will contribute significantly to the expansion of the fandom, leading to a lot of profit growth. However, it’s undeniable that quality is still better than quantity, and fans think that Big Hit itself also needs to reconsider the development of this Weverse platform and act more firmly as well as tighten the censorship to bring a healthy social network to the artists and their fans.
Fans have the right to hope for the improvements that Big Hit will bring in the future, especially when the company recognizes the great potential of social networks and always focuses on developing and applying the best, most advanced technology for their artists.
