After much speculation, Zayn Malik has broken many teenage hearts and officially left One Direction.

Rumours started flying after it was confirmed earlier this week that Malik would be leaving the Asian leg of One Direction’s world tour due to stress. At the time there were no immediate indications that Malik would be leaving the band permanently although he had been put under a lot of pressure after he was photographed with several girls who were not his fiancé.

Now the question becomes how will the band’s army of young fans cope with the news? There have been mixed reactions so far from people on Twitter from abject devastation to downright apathy and finally the predictable comparisons with Jeremy Clarkson’s situation. What makes this situation disturbing is the absolute unwavering dedication that the band’s fans have shown repeatedly in the past. A lot of the reactions may be teenage melodrama but there’s also the darker side, as evidenced by one fan that tweeted the Samaritans helpline for her fellow One Directioners.

We have of course seen this kind of fan dedication when Take That announced their disbandment back in the 90s but the sheer worldwide phenomenon that is One Direction has surpassed even their popularity.

Fans will no doubt now be concerned about the future of the band, who have assured the world that they will be continuing as a four piece. That will give some comfort to fans but without one of their founding members, the magic could be quickly lost for the boys. Many bands over the years have lost a member and some have attempted to carry on and have made it work which could be the case here but for the most part, when a member goes, the magic goes with them.

Prominent examples of this are Take That and the Spice Girls. At the time of Geri Halliwell leaving the Spice Girls, the band had a following which showed a level of dedication similar to that of One Direction. They attempted to carry on for a few years after Geri left but they were never as successful as in the early days of their career.

It remains to be seen whether a similar thing will happen with One Direction but for now their fans seem to be getting behind them.

What are your thoughts on this?

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