Interesting questions. What will the world look like in 2034? Well, we first have to wait for 2021, the year that Trumps presidency ends. If the world is still in one piece then, I'll go for the optimistic scenario.
To my experience, there are and there will be people for who being a furry is rooted deeply in their soul. These people can not be
not a furry. Based on attendance in conferences worldwide plus the number of artists who have a career of 20, 30 years in furry fandom, I estimate that this core group is about 20.000 people worldwide at the moment. It may grow due to the fact that in some parts of the world there are furries who don't know it yet, like probably in Turkey. As furry fandom is predominantly a social phenomenon in Western countries and some parts of Asia and Latin America, roughly half of the world's population, the number of core furries may actually be 40 or 50 thousand on a world population of 7 billion.
But then there is the 'Umfeld' as the Germans call it, the close support group that surrounds it, which probably is 10 to 20 times bigger. This is the number of all people combined that have accounts on some furry platforms. 'Umfelders' may have fursonas and see furry fandom as a nice hobby instead of an existential thing, which is alright too of course. Probably there are a lot of sleeping and double accounts, but if we multiply everything, then there are potentially one million furries and regular sympathisers in the world. More than one out of 10.000 people.
Of course, this is a total guestimate, other calculations may come up with very different numbers.
My prediction is that this 1:10.000 ratio will stay solid, but that there is a possibility for a new outer ring: people who are not core furries or sympathisers who spend some time in the fandom, but more occasional 'visitors'. As fursuiting may catch on and become a regular activity, like some kind of year-round carnaval, many more people will enjoy seeing it. Of course, the techniques may improve, but I think this will be mostly invisible to the public. What I do expect is that the acting, more than the suits, will evolve in a spectacular way. Fursuiting in 2034 will be a very different type of performance. Fursuiters will be professional players and dancers with all kinds of new repertoire, and there will be endearing forms of interaction with the public that we don't know of yet. Some fursonas will be regular stars! It may replace the traditional circus as a very animal friendly alternative.
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Topic: Then and Now - Down Memory Lane (Read 32365 times)