"The news is not just a shock, it's unthinkable for us in the 1D generation. One Direction is childhood, and childhood cannot die", writes Fanny Svärd, columnist in Expressen.
The sorrow is something she shares with millions of fans around the world. It's evident, not least, in social media where young people are crying and mourning, trying to take in what has happened.
Some wonder why one should bother and cry over an artist and think it's nonsense. But it's not who we mourn that controls how the sorrow is expressed, but who we are. Sorrow is highly individual and it's important to remember that, says psychologist Mattias Lundberg, associate professor at Umeå University.
Jessica Edlom is a researcher at Karlstad University and has followed fans in her work. She says it's not strange that the passing of an idol stirs up emotions in the way that has happened after Liam Payne's death.
Being a fan is about having a close relationship with someone. It becomes a friend who is very important. Social media has reinforced this even more since fans can now have access to their idol's entire life and everything they do, she says.
Mattias Lundberg means that sorrow must always be taken seriously, both by the one who mourns and by those around them.
We have a right to our feelings. If we feel sorrow, it's usually sorrow we experience. It's important to accept the sorrow, he says.
