#fandom demographics

[ao3demographicssurvey2024]

In the AO3 Demographics Survey 2024 - an unofficial demographics survey of 16,131 AO3 users - 81% of respondents identified as LGBTQ+, and 25% identified as transgender.

To see more analysis, including comparisons to general population trends, please view the full results on AO3.

[sflow-er]

YR fandom poll

We've had a number of polls on fandom demographics, so this has probably been asked before. But even if it has, I'd love to know the current situation!

If several options apply to you, please pick the one that feels the most significant.

This is my first attempt at a poll - sorry if anything is unclear or if there's some obvious option missing!

Reblogs for wider reach would be much appreciated!

[koysiini-keinumaan]

Not long after Ruoska's release I made a survey that circulated Käärijä Twitter/X about demographics within the fanbase, though it never really made it to tumblr as I was not in this section of the fanbase back then. Should I post it here? (Please note it is a tad outdated - eg. doesn't include post-Ruoska songs)

[go-to-the-mirror]

So, I made this poll a while ago, shared it on instagram and my fic end notes first, it’s collecting data about the TMA fandom, so if you could answer it, reblog this, share the link, that would be really helpful and great!

It’s completely anonymous, and no questions are required, even completing just a few would be great! Feel free to make your own posts about it, I just want this poll shared around.

[y2keiji]

hiii bffs i am working on a video essay about parasocial relationships and if they influence the way we interact with fandom and shipping 🙏

would be very fun and cool if you would help an insane person (me) with this :3

[praetorqueenreyna]

Are we close to getting the results from the new survey? 👀

HONESTLY.....no 😂 I'm still working on reworking the data into a usable format for analysis. The contingency tables ESPECIALLY are a pain in the ass. Not to mention work has been crazy lately so I've been very busy and sleepy.

SO YEAH! Most optimistic timeline would have the results done by mid-August. Possibly the end of August. You're welcome to keep asking and check in though!

[centrumlumina]

Hello! How are you? I fell into a rabbit hole of research this afternoon, and one question I couldn't find an answer to is the socioeconomic makeup of fanfiction readers and writers (social origin, social class, highest diploma, occupation, income, etc). Do you have any insight on this? Could that be the topic of some questions for a future census?

This is absolutely an interesting question, but it's harder to ask about than you might think. The problem is that fandom is pretty international - different countries have wildly different ideas and experiences of class, and it can be very hard to compare them.

You can't simply convert currencies, because the relative cost of living in a given area has a huge impact, even within a single country. Educational achievement (i.e. highest degree) might be the most useful, but a lot of fandom is also under 21, i.e. probably not old enough to have finished undergrad.

If anyone has any further thoughts about this, you're welcome to come discuss it on the Discord for the upcoming AO3 Demographics Survey 2023: discord.gg/F5ArbfhQ

[berlinini]

And Louis said it’s like a lot of his fans have grown up with him. Which wouldn’t be possible for 14 to 18 year olds. This is true even for Louies who discovered him in the years after 1D or during Walls release - growing up can take place in many ways. Quite a few Louies I know were fans of 1D but then became solo Louies. So again, not 14 to 18 year olds 🙀

Yeah. Anyways.

[destinationtoast]

Tags from @nobodysuspectsthebutterfly :

#i know a whole bunch of cishet guys who write fanfic #only a few are here on tumblr mind you but they are out there #and nobody i know personally is there but i'm aware spacebattles and alternatehistory are *huge* forums for fanfic written by cishet guys

Yeah, I think these results are very reflective of the fact that the poll is happening on Tumblr, and it would be really interesting to also run it on the sites you mention, and in various subreddits related to fanfic. If only that were easy to do!

That said, this poll is interesting to see, and @centrumlumina 's awesome 2013 AO3 Census survey (advertised on Tumblr) also yielded a highly queer and female/non-binary demographics breakdown (though 38% of those survey respondents said they were het, which is smaller than I had expected at the time but substantially higher than the above). It is fascinating to me how queer the AO3+Tumblr poll respondents are. There's a follow up demographics survey in the works, and I can't wait to see the results.

I just had a discussion with my friend about fanfiction and how we tend to assume that women are the writers without any actual proof. Then I said, hey, I know fanfiction written by gay and trans dudes. But then I remembered, wait, I think I know one writer who just must be cis het based on his work. Anyway, all writers, be honest, who are you?

Please reblog if you're interested in the results.

[ao3demographicssurvey2024]

In the AO3 Demographics Survey 2024 - an unofficial demographics survey of 16,131 AO3 users - the estimated average age of respondents was 27.6 years, with a standard deviation of 9.1 years.

The quartiles of the data were approximately 20.8 years, 26.0 years, and 32.6 years.

To see more analysis, including comparisons to other fandom demographics surveys, please view the full results on AO3.

[miriam-heddy]

Poll: 9-1-1 ABC Gets ~ 10 Million Cross-Platform Viewers An Episode. That’s a pretty big “General Audience.”

[navsleftpec]

Bonus points if you explain why in the notes :-)

[meltedmush]

Keep making the Binghorse. We gotta ward off people from entering this fandom. We need to keep it pure. I fr don't want this fandom to become famous. I'm scared that there will be toxic fans left and right.

HAHA I absolutely understand the sentiment. I feel a bit contradictory since I want more people to appreciate SVSSS, but the at the same time I like small tight knit communities and I personally can’t handle large fandoms whatsoever. 😭

Although I do feel as though describing the SVSSS as pure is very funny for how lawless this fandom is. But behavior wise, it is definitely a very positive and supportive space!! I haven’t met anyone or seen anything unpleasant since I’ve entered the fandom. Albeit, it’s only been a few months since I’ve started interacting with the fandom, and over half a year since I first read SVSSS, so I have no clue what horror stories the SVSSS fandom has. (I honestly haven’t interacted with that many SVSSS fans tbh…. Even though I want to.)

In addition, funny enough, I feel as though the book almost acts as its own barrier of entry. SVSSS isn’t the type of book you can read once unless you’re good at reading against the grain and noticing all the nuances and subtext. I know the first time I read SVSSS, SVSSS disturbed and confused me so badly. I talked to a few other people who read SVSSS once, who said that LBH and SQQ’s relationship felt like Stockholm syndrome. But people who’ve read SVSSS several times will know, that is not the case, and that SQQ is an INSANELY UNRELIABLE narrator.

I honestly find it funny how effective Binghorse or all the other skin creatures is at filtering toxic fans.😂

There’s always a general reaction to the skin creatures: “Omg, cute!!”, “wtf, but I like it”, “wtf”. Or getting blocked, or death threats. (I haven’t received any…? I don’t think…? One message I received is definitely debatable since I can’t tell if it’s sarcastic or not….😭)

But regardless, I’ll definitely keep drawing Binghorse!!! It’s actually really enjoyable!

[yardsards]

the marcille-falin-laios dynamic is like the barry-lup-taako dynamic. to me.