The fandom in 20 years

[Plonkett 341]

With how strong the fandom has gotten lately, how do you think it's going to end up 20 years from now? Do you think it's still gonna go strong or do you think it will be nerfed in a way? Do you think sites like this, Equestria Daily, and Derpibooru will still be up by then? Or, will many fan areas just be found on smaller scale websites and groups on Deviantart (if that'd be still around)?

[Venomous 18,813]

I feel like the fandom will still be pretty strong.

[Overdrive 5,366]

Considering that there are fans still around from the original generation, I'd say there will be somewhat of a cult following down the road in 20 years.

[CC_Maud_Pie 6,431]

I would say it'll be alive and strong. Just like other fandoms like the Trekkies, Star Wars, and Harry Potter.

[Twisted Cyclone 🚓 6,221]

I think it'll still be around 20 years from now. 

Edited April 14, 2015 by RainbowDash72

[Ziggy + Angel + Rain 11,298]

I feel as though many current Bronies will look back upon their interest in FIM as simply a "phase."  I could be wrong.  Though I'm not taking any chances; I'm procuring all of the FIM Rainbow Dash plushies and figures I can right now!

[Thorn O Discord 118]

I won't be surprised if it is around, but things like this could go either way. I won't be leaving it anytime soon, but that won't mean much If I'm left here alone.

[A Black Circle 1,585]

Yeah. Shows this great and deep last a long time. In fact, that's probably one of my favorite things about MLP. It doesn't seem like it's going to age at all.

[SL4MT 51]

This question is not easy to answer because of the amount of things we have to factor in like when MLP will end, the rate at which the fandom population increases/decreases, the continuation of newer generation ponies etc. People that watched the first generations are still around today and with how popular friendship is magic is compared to the older shows it's highly likely that the fandom will still be pretty strong at that time. Same with Doctor Who, DBZ and Star Wars.

[Metallic Strings 185]

I think I will still like the show and we could possibly live on.

I REALLY hope they don't jump the shark with mlp or we would be facing a spongebob kind of scenario and I don't think anyone wants that.

[Gone Airbourne 21,969]

I think the fandom will most likely still be alive in that time. However I do hope that the show does not go on for that long.

[Mesme Rize 15,681]

I think that the fandom is alive then still. But i think that once the show is over, the golden years of the fandom will be over by then. I think only the big hardcore bronies will go through these forums, if they are still up by then, since this place costs something.

 

Better be glad that we have so much fun today, because it could end tomorrow.

[KrazyDashie 1,846]

I have a feeling the fandom will still stay alive... but I cant say much for the show.  though there are older gen fans in this fandom too.  I mean, star wars has been around for awhile (and star trek) and their fandoms are still alive and strong.

[Omar 692]

The fandom probably will still be here in 20 years, it just won't be as big. Or it might get bigger, there's no way to tell.

[inactive_user 367]

I certainly hope we'll still be around 20 years from now... Of course by then we may have a severe drought of any new episodes being made by then...... Maybe anyway... There are some TV shows out there that have lasted at least 25 years anyway... Maybe we could get lucky. :3

[Commissar Alexer 763]

It will definitely shrink to a very tiny fraction.

[FlutterHigh 81]

I have a feeling in 20 years Gen 5 or 6 would be out by then and they will still have a fan base i just feel all the websites will be majorly tweaked to keep  up with the new version of they show. So gen 4 will be basically be non existent and the new show will rank superior. Anyways my thoughts tell me the websites will still be still running in the future but the websites will not be like the good old current website.

[AlbaTross 1,581]

With the Internet, fandoms of virtually anything we can think of have thrived more than they would have otherwise, and fans of shows even from a couple decades ago have formed communities around them. Sure, not every fandom is particularly large, and there are plenty of forums on the Internet that are virtually dead, but I've observed the existence of fandoms for all sorts of things, including old TV shows that have been off the air for a very long time, many of which ended with far fewer episodes than FiM has at this point in time. Moreover, FiM is very much a modern fandom that has greatly benefitted from starting in the current decade when things like social media have long since been taken for granted, which I have no doubt has helped the fandom to spread like wildfire and I have no doubt that the mark it has made on the Internet will draw in new fans well into the future.

 

Whether the fandom will be going as strong as it is now is another thing entirely, but since MLP is a franchise and it's highly likely that more MLP shows will be produced in the future, with FiM being the new palette that future series will be based off of, there's a high chance that it will be. Of course, I couldn't tell you whether Bronies will continue to be FiM fans or move on to be fans of whatever series Hasbro comes up with next, but I'm sure given how long FiM has run for so far, and the fact that it has been the most successful MLP series to date by far, FiM won't simply vanish without a trace. Fans are sure to keep the fandom alive well after the plug is pulled on the show anyways.

[Oblivion 20,265]

With everything else that's been said here I have to agree that it WILL probably exist 20 years from now. Though the chances of it being much smaller is quite great since unfortunately it's just human nature to lose interest in things after a while. But I guess it also depends on how much new content their is and what direction they take a new show if they ever created one.

[Adorkable 2,737]

In 20 years, as much as I love the show and our fandom, I don't think it will be anything like now, for the most obvious of reasons. I can see it drastically decreasing by then if it's even still around. Sure sure, there will still be people that will say they were apart of the Brony group during its time, but I don't see our group being very popular by then. Who in the world knows what Equestria Daily will even be up to then? I mean, 20 years is a very long time. The show will only be around for another 4, probably.

[Violet_S 783]

Well I don't think the show is going to be around by that time but when it comes to the fandom, well that really depends on us fully, if we want it to still be alive in 20 years then we should keep the 'spark' alive and get people from the next generation to know the show as well as the fandom and if we stay together there will be no need to worry about the fandom not being around for 20 years.

[Vertigo-01 101]

The MLP fandom seems to have flourished very well in a short amount of time, not so dissimilar to how Harry Potter had a little over a decade ago. Now that the series and books are officially finished, the fandom still carries on strong.

I'm not saying I believe the MLP fandom will be as strong, but I would be surprised if it ever completely fizzled out. Twenty years? Too hard to tell at the rate technology is advancing. Ten years? Chyea, I think it'll still have some life left in it.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,152]

Well the fandom will still be around, though it will be a fair bit smaller in numbers. That's just the natural course of fandoms; not necessarily a bad thing.

 

Of course a number of sites will likely close down, and while I can imagine sites like Poniverse and Derpibooru staying around; I'm not so sure about Equestria Daily unless they were to switch gears to whatever generation is being shown at the time.

[Banul 3,831]

The Star Trek fandom is still chugging along. So is Star Wars (which I'm sure will be even stronger with the new movies coming out)

 

Thats not to say that MLP is as big as those. My point is, fandoms can survive for long periods of time. As long as Hasbro continues to put out pony content that people want to see, it will be around. Its size may wax and wane, but I think its at a point were it won't go away completely for a long time.

[Steel Accord 6,658]

Given how long Trekkies have been a driving force, I think it will be similar to that. The mania will die down, but it will settle into a cool sustainability. (Until the cons come around, then it will return to a fever pitch.)