One Direction fans shaken by collective grief

We watched as they auditioned for “X Factor,” became a boy band, released chart-topping songs and overtook stadiums around the world. For Gen Z and millennials who grew up alongside British boyband One Direction, the death of singer Liam Payne is especially devastating.

Even for those who weren’t “Directors,” Payne’s death came as a crushing shock, and for Gen Z, it feels like the first major collective loss for our generation.

People took to social media to share their pain.

“I’m actually in shock and had to take a break in the middle of the work meeting to keep from crying,” wrote one fan. “Wow. 12 year old me is shattered into a million pieces.”

Another tweeted: “I feel like most of us are so shocked by Liam Payne’s death (because) that man was once part of something our 13 year old selves could never imagine living without.

What is “collective mourning”?

Celebrity deaths can feel personal, even if you never met the person. And while grief is different for everyone, experts say collective or public grief is a valid experience and can be exacerbated when the death of a public figure is discovered unexpectedly in the news or on social media.

“When people experience a sudden loss, they may feel shocked, disbelief, confused and even in denial,” Shavonne Moore-Lobban, a licensed psychologist, previously told USA TODAY. “The suddenness of the loss can be too much to process and seem too unreal for a person to immediately comprehend.”

Many people also experience parasocial relationships with celebrities, a phenomenon often associated with fan culture that can make the death of a public figure seem even more real.

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One Direction exploded during the rise of social media and was one of the first bands that fans had constant access to, making the five boys feel like they were part of their lives. Fans could rewatch an interview on YouTube countless times or dive deep into his tweets, spending hours “with” and obsessing over Payne and his bandmates.

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“It’s fascinating that people don’t realize that we can actually grieve people we didn’t know,” David Kessler, grief expert and founder of Grief.com, told USA TODAY. “And that doesn’t mean we’re going to grieve them like our spouse, mother, father, sister or child, but we’re going to grieve them.”

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If you are struggling with feelings of sadness, confusion, or grief, help is available. Call or text 988 or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HELLO to 741-741.

This story has been updated to add a video.