Is the Fandom Getting Younger

[Ryffnah]

I also don't really mind the things I like getting popular, since well, then in general that means there will be MORE of the things I like, which I can't really see as a bad thing.

This.  Exactly this.

[dodbringr]

We aren't saying being seen in a better light by the public is a bad thing, nor is the addition of new members. By all means, go for it!    We would just rather not see the fandom become an overly advertised thing that corporations are into only because of the money it may pull in. It seems like, if that were to happen, it would become less unique, less of a way to say that you are different. Think about it. If everyone was walking around saying they were furry just because they were wearing a hat with ears or something similar, wouldn't it feel like something was missing? The fandom wouldn't actually mean anything to them. It would just be a label they would give themselves because it's what everyone else is doing. It wouldn't be special to them, when (opinion time) we think it really should be. We didn't join because (pretend for a moment) one of our friends told us to. We joined because it seemed like a place where we could be accepted for who we are by a group that has no bias at all. Ponder this too: knowing how society works, wouldn't some sort of bias develop eventually? Where, for example, furs who were canines would separate from furs who were feline simply because they weren't the same species? It has happened throughout history to almost every group of people ever, and who is to say it wouldn't happen here? The true furs wouldn't do such things, obviously, but the others, the ones only in it for the label, may very well do so. We realize we sound a bit paranoid, but that's the honest truth of it. It may seem fine and dandy for a time, but as soon as someone says a wrong word or interprets something wrong, the whole thing could come crashing down, and turn into just one more thing to argue over. Society doesn't need any more dispute than it already has, and setting ourselves up for one won't help in the least. We don't mean to sound mad about it, if that's how we are being perceived. We just feel very adamant about our position, and feel the need to present it in the most effective, if a little blunt, way possible. 

[Ryffnah]

While I do agree that furries, as a group, seem to be unusually accepting, this seems like an overly starry-eyed rose-colored view of the fandom.  Any group of people -- even small groups, and even furries -- is still a group of people.  Furries already break into sub-groups, disagree over things, and get into disputes.  We don't have to wait for massive popularity for that to happen.

[dodbringr]

While I do agree that furries, as a group, seem to be unusually accepting, this seems like an overly starry-eyed rose-colored view of the fandom.  Any group of people -- even small groups, and even furries -- is still a group of people.  Furries already break into sub-groups, disagree over things, and get into disputes.  We don't have to wait for massive popularity for that to happen.

Our experiences are our own, and we make judgements based on what we see an how we interact with others. We have yet to see any sort of dispute that exceeds the severity of a post in the debate thread, in all honesty. While we do agree that no group has to wait for mass popularity for these things to happen, it can certainly speed the process along. So many people interacting in so many different ways, there are bound to be several individuals who would love nothing more than to disrupt whatever kind of peace we may have. Yes there are sub-groups, but all of the ones we have seen still retain a sort of bond with the main group. And, finally, everyone disagrees one things. It is the way of the world, and we had no intention of implying that the rule doesn't apply to the fandom as well.

All we are trying to say is that it would be great if the fandom could expand, but that it would be wise to avoid those areas and groups of people who would seek to exploit it or otherwise try to essentially ruin it for the ones who truly care about it. Yes the fandom may have it's flaws, but doesn't everything? We just don't want those flaws to become more numerous simply because someone thought they could take advantage of the good that copiously exists in the fandom.

[bkatt500]

There's actually quite a few less friendly areas and on-going debates in furry, a more mild example would be the attitudes towards sparkle/scene dogs, another would be otherkin/therians and their association with furry.  There's a few other conflicts that are a bit too mature in subject to get into detail here but are even more divisive and vicious when they get started.
I don't think species groups would have anymore conflict than they already do (which is mostly stuff like 'Pick something other than a fox or a wolf!') and most conflicts would be the ones that already exist, aside from the before-it-was-cool furs vs the newbs, though it actually might cause enough policing to sort of drown-out some of the elements that cause a couple of the more heated arguments and make them less visible.  As far as it being less special, its specialness is really up to you and shouldn't be affected by how many others share the interest.  To a lot of furs, myself included, it's really more-or-less just a hobby, aesthetic, and community, to some it's more spiritual, and to some it's already just a label to quickly describe an interest. 

[Dunnydude29]

I'm probably one of the youngest here, being 13.

But I've known ever since I was little that animals were an important part of my life. I will be staying as a Furry for a long time, I'm even planning to go to a con!

Plus, some people my age use the computer a lot, not only for gaming but for other purposes. I was bound to stumble upon the Fandom 1 and a half years ago.

[Lynk]

I'm probably one of the youngest here, being 13.

But I've known ever since I was little that animals were an important part of my life. I will be staying as a Furry for a long time, I'm even planning to go to a con!

Plus, some people my age use the computer a lot, not only for gaming but for other purposes. I was bound to stumble upon the Fandom 1 and a half years ago.

I was your age when I signed up here, in 2010 (I'm 16 now). You're in for one heck of a ride with this fandom.

[Mylo]

You're in for one heck of a ride with this fandom.

Think about it.

[Keo]

Wouldn't it be getting older?
I mean the once-young older members of the fandom are now getting older... And except may be things like brony, deviantart circles and some game fans there aren't as many things that you might find the furry fandom through, right?

Though, I think it'll increase with the world's population. I think if you see any boost in popularity, it's an illusion caused by how some small communities have collapsed and replaced with larger ones, especially in relation to the advent of large scale social networking sites like Facebook and furry-specific sites such as Fur Affinity (before, I'm sure there'd be more furries on other networks like MySpace, virtual worlds, MUCKs/MUDs).

When I found the fandom I cut straight to research.I found the maximum average amount of users of creative/fan furry sites to be currently 200,000 (from a statistic that may include spam / multiple accounts, and it seems the average active poster of such has 20 posts). Those who would have once otherwise once associated with things like funny/cartoon animal, were, game and Disney/etc related fandoms (such as TLK) seem to also consider themselves as furries purely because of how the term has spread, yet there is also a decline with association due to negative furry stereotypes. One thing the internet gives is the illusion that there are more or less than there is, depending where you look. I mean it's like things with corporations, anthropomorphic animals and the likes have been a part of media/culture for millennia and it doesn't really directly relate to promoting the furry fandom or what not (furry fandom is a fandom not a product, to make money with it is best to be an artist who makes commissions, I think).

I mean I joined the furry community at the age of 19 when I registered on here a month or so ago x3
I had not heard it in media, if I did it didn't come to my attention, and I think most people would be like "meh" if they saw something, especially if they had no interest whatsoever. But I learnt about it online and understood it, as being a type of therian, I can associate.

But I do conclude the furry fandom is expanding, not much in relation to the world's population, but the younger age thing is probably just an illusion :3

I also found this link for popular base of artists on FA, which may correlate, too (note quite a lot in the list are mature and even adult-oriented it seems):
http://www.popufur.com/

[Kobuk]

I also found this link for popular base of artists on FA, which may correlate, too (note quite a lot in the list are mature and even adult-oriented it seems):
http://www.popufur.com/

That actually disgusts me that FA has a "popularity chart ranking system".    I am so glad Furtopia has never had such a thing.

[Revant]

I found this site, from the furry poll thing:
klisoura.com/ot_furrysurvey.php
Also:
http://www.furcenter.org/publications.php
The owner (Alex-something) has a lot of domains and websites from what I was able to find. Don't bother exploring the rest of the first website, it doesn't say much. The documents tell much about the general preferences of the fandom (ex: which is the most popular species? how many people in the fandom do this and that?). I think its almost scary, how there are statistics about this already and also because I was planning on making a survey before, wow.