This is really well written! So you reckon part of the reason for the fandom’s growth is the loneliness epidemic, which encourages more people to join such communities online? I think the furry fandom is a great remedy for loneliness to be honest - getting weird, queer people together to have fun without judgement.

Side note: I think you missed one of the largest factors contributing to a loneliness epidemic: lockdown. I feel like this normalised the want to stay indoors, away from other people. And encouraged us online (more so than before) which kickstarted that cycle of people digging themselves ever deeper into these incel and conspiratorial echo chambers, where they begin to despise everyone outside of their circle.

I’ve touched on a few similar themes myself (see my doppelganger) https://yiffit.net/post/3113251 and https://yiffit.net/post/11919426 Since those posts I’ve joined in a few other places online and I’m not sure I really feel a part of those groups, but I do feel free to just be me there (here too usually). In person stuff hasn’t really changed though. I’ll disagree with omegamouse on one thing, I don’t think the lockdown has as much impact as they think. The bubble building and online validation had been building for a long time, I think it was more of a correlation as opposed to a causation.