The #Reeduseffect
Speaking to many fans of Norman Reedus, we all seem to feel the same way? It’s almost like a magical spell that he casts on us?
So when a fan first sees Norman, they love his acting, in some cases develop an attraction. This grows and they start doing research. In my case, it was his role in The Walking Dead, Daryl Dixon. I then found out Norman was on Twitter.
I decided to be active on my Twitter account which i used at first to defend myself against losses from poor company services.
I started following Norman Reedus @wwwbigbaldhead, and started to interact and befriend other fans of Norman and The Walking Dead. And this is where the magic got crazy. I found out he was on Instagram, so I followed that too… then people mentioned he sometimes interacts with his fans. I was like ‘aww that’s sweet, ok…’
I met someone who taught me how to be noticed by him and I was like ‘hell yeah!’ And i started joining in with the craze… so the first time i was ‘noticed by Norman’ was when i saw a conversation where they quoted “Pee and Poop” from back in March 2009. I quote tweeted stating ‘your fans are getting desperate, quoting from your Tweet back in 2009’.
My phone went crazy, i was like wtf happened?! NORMAN liked and RETWEETED. Oh my gosh, i was on such a ride, it was just GLORIOUS! I did feel bad though because i felt someone else deserved the credit!
My second was when I created a “Norman Reedus” character on Grand Theft Auto Online (PS4), he liked the picture i posted and tagged him on 😍.
I started to create memes and stuff, hoping he would see, desperate for that wonderful drug-like feeling of being ‘noticed’ by someone followed by over 10 million people on Twitter and Instagram combined. Nothing was happening and i started to get ‘withdrawal symptoms’.
I found a picture on Instagram that was black and white, was inspired by the grass patch behind a picture of Norman sticking his tongue out… I decided to use photoshop and stick in there a colour picture of one of my video game idol action figures (Claire Farron, A.K.A Lightning from Final Fantasy 13 series), on a deer, feeding it a sparkly carrot. HE LIKED IT! My first Instagram like! I was so chuffed!
I went and put on Twitter what had happened, explaining i was just getting my head back straight, THEN he goes and likes my Instagram picture. A few hours later, HE LIKES my Twitter comment! I was soaring!
I then started listening to the fans more, so many were praying for him to follow them, some of them going through awful things, and my heart started to wander off towards them. I started to wonder if maybe I could help them get that glimmer of hope that they need?
I had a real long think and came up with a ‘follow request list for Norman Reedus’ and pinned it to my profile. People started writing on there, even people who I’d known for a while who’d never expressed their desire for a follow from him. Humble people in most cases. Lots of them suffering from past and present ailments too. Strong people who needed just a little magic glitter.
I started tagging Norman to the request list, and some weird magic happened. Not only did he LIKE the follow request list, he actually started FOLLOWING ME! I remember staring at my phone for ages, quietly screaming to myself. OMG OMG WHAT IS THIS, NORMAN WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME NOW!! AGHHHHHH! HES FOLLOWING ME! OMG!! AGHHHH! (hey, didn’t want to upset my neighbour I’m from UK and it was late!)
So far I know of a small amount of people who he’s added from the list, I’ve had few more likes from him since? But my god how rewarding it is to be giving this hope to other people? I suddenly realised my depression decreased, that I was feeling happier for following my heart and my love of other people.
These days i try to send heart felt memes and tag Norman, but usually I’m talking about the list or quote tweeting their requests.
So the #reeduseffect? Yes it’s very real… I’m hearing it across other fans too, the excitement of being noticed, the soaring sensation of being followed, and… perhaps some of the lows of having not been noticed for a while. Some fans really struggle with what I’m going to call ‘withdrawal’, and i will always stand by them to encourage them to keep trying, that Norman doesn’t ‘hate’ his fans, we all know he’s a busy fella and that he’s doing his best… and wow, what a wonderful bloke he is?! For giving his fans all this attention? For making our lives glitter like Andrew Lincolns car? Yes!
Massive ‘Thank You’ to you Norman Reedus and all other celebrities who bring sunshine to our world, for filling us up with love and hope. I want you all to realise how much it means to us!
By Katie Palmer (July 2021, Updated Aug ‘21)
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