151 Journal of Fandom Studies Volume 3 Number 2 © 2015 Intellect Ltd Article. English language. doi: 10.1386/jfs.3.2.151_1 KareN e. dill-shacKleford, KristiN hopper-loseNicKy, cyNthia ViNNey, lisa f. swaiN aNd Jerri lyNN hogg Fielding Graduate University Mad Men fans speak via social media: what fan voices reveal about the social construction of reality via dramatic fiction abstract Fans of complex television dramas often watch because of eudaimonic motivations – the desire to make meaning from media, to explore their own emotions and to learn about the human experience through the exploration of novel experiences that audio- visual fiction affords. This study analyses the psychology of how fans of Mad Men (2007) construct social realities via online discussions of some of the major rela- tionships and storylines on the show. Our primary goal was to understand how fans create reality from fantasy and our focus was on social relationships and indi- vidual character analyses. Using a social science approach, we performed both a computer-automated and an expert-driven thematic analysis on 209 fan comments harvested from social media. The automated analysis revealed common emotional expressions, such as associating hate with the character Betty Draper. The expert analysis revealed that many of fans’ social media conversations centred on eval- uating Don and Betty Draper as parents, spouses and people, either condemn- ing or defending them in each of these roles. Fans were evenly split between Betty Keywords fandom social media Mad Men television shows blogs meaning making eudaimonic appreciation hedonic enjoyment