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On Fandom And Conventioneering...
Jul. 18th, 2008 10:46 amA discussion I'm having in another corner of the web has gotten me thinking.
Do younger fans - by which I mean those under 25 - see much point in things like SF/F conventions?
With the exception of the costuming crowd - because a convention is the best venue to show off one's work - I'm noticing that demographic at conventions remains skewed towards the over-25 end of the bell curve.
Yes, yes, I acknowledge that one undeniable factor in that is income - you've got to have a bit of disposable ready to visit a convention, for registration, hotel, a bit of fun in the dealers' room, and not many early 20somethings can afford too much in that regard.
But it occurs to me that maybe the younger SF/F fans are getting all they want from fandom via the web. Their entire community, in fact, could be web-based. Fan-fiction, interviews with cast and crew, chat forums, RPGs, video footage (legal and otherwise) can all be obtained online.
I wonder if some younger fans look askance at conventions and ask "What's the point?" Their loss, in my opinion...
Got any thoughts to share on this topic, dear reader?
Do younger fans - by which I mean those under 25 - see much point in things like SF/F conventions?
With the exception of the costuming crowd - because a convention is the best venue to show off one's work - I'm noticing that demographic at conventions remains skewed towards the over-25 end of the bell curve.
Yes, yes, I acknowledge that one undeniable factor in that is income - you've got to have a bit of disposable ready to visit a convention, for registration, hotel, a bit of fun in the dealers' room, and not many early 20somethings can afford too much in that regard.
But it occurs to me that maybe the younger SF/F fans are getting all they want from fandom via the web. Their entire community, in fact, could be web-based. Fan-fiction, interviews with cast and crew, chat forums, RPGs, video footage (legal and otherwise) can all be obtained online.
I wonder if some younger fans look askance at conventions and ask "What's the point?" Their loss, in my opinion...
Got any thoughts to share on this topic, dear reader?
