This makes me wonder if there’s a correlation between being a member of internet-based fandoms and subcultures, and loneliness. Sure, furries have conventions, but for the most part, it’s all online and rather anonymous. Popular websites like FurAffinity are more like image boards, not places to socialise. I’m not saying that all furries are lonely, but maybe there’s an above-average amount of furries (and members of other communities that are primarily online, including loosely defined groups like fanfic authors) who are, compared to the general population.
I mean, there is probably a correlation that tracks, but you also have the intersections of a bunch of groups that are probably lonely on their own. Queer, ASD, Social Anxiety. It feels like as you see longer and longer histories in the fandom, you see less loneliness. There is plenty of interaction on FA, maybe less now than there once was, but certainly more than just image boards like 621. Crossing the hump to start is scary, but once your on the other side, its still scary, just the humps to overcome become smaller.
There are definitely lots of people who found their tightest group of friends in the fandom, true. idk, it can go both ways, maybe people who are lonely irl (like queer or ND folks, or people with anxiety) are more likely to join internet-based fandoms. There are the scary humps that you mention, but (at least in my case) it feels a lot less demanding than irl interactions because I can step back whenever I want, it’s usually a lot slower than irl conversations, and I get to observe before joining a conversation. That makes being active on pawb a lot easier than, say, joining a club irl, even though writing comments with substance is still a little scary.
This makes me wonder if there’s a correlation between being a member of internet-based fandoms and subcultures, and loneliness. Sure, furries have conventions, but for the most part, it’s all online and rather anonymous. Popular websites like FurAffinity are more like image boards, not places to socialise. I’m not saying that all furries are lonely, but maybe there’s an above-average amount of furries (and members of other communities that are primarily online, including loosely defined groups like fanfic authors) who are, compared to the general population.
I mean, there is probably a correlation that tracks, but you also have the intersections of a bunch of groups that are probably lonely on their own. Queer, ASD, Social Anxiety. It feels like as you see longer and longer histories in the fandom, you see less loneliness. There is plenty of interaction on FA, maybe less now than there once was, but certainly more than just image boards like 621. Crossing the hump to start is scary, but once your on the other side, its still scary, just the humps to overcome become smaller.
There are definitely lots of people who found their tightest group of friends in the fandom, true. idk, it can go both ways, maybe people who are lonely irl (like queer or ND folks, or people with anxiety) are more likely to join internet-based fandoms. There are the scary humps that you mention, but (at least in my case) it feels a lot less demanding than irl interactions because I can step back whenever I want, it’s usually a lot slower than irl conversations, and I get to observe before joining a conversation. That makes being active on pawb a lot easier than, say, joining a club irl, even though writing comments with substance is still a little scary.
You mean that?