Do You Think the Fandom is ‘Dying’?

So first crack at a forum topic here. Sorry in advance to the mods if this is considered under the wrong forum, seems like an attempt to stir controversy, etc. Just curious to hear from the fine folks of the booru.
 
So with the finale having passed a few months ago, something bothersome that I’ve been hearing lately is that the fandom is now dying/will die soon/is falling off the face of the earth in some inconceivably apocalyptic fashion. Most of this seems to stem from the show ending as well as BronyCon shutting down for the foreseeable future and the thought that too many major fans and creators are leaving. However, there also seems to be a lot of people saying it’s still going strong as ever, reasons including several new cons that have been springing up for a while now, as well as Everfree Northwest’s expansion, the fact that plenty of creators, artists, and the like are still making new material, and there still seems to be a stream of new fans coming in. Personally, especially given that there have been false cries of the fandom ending many times as far back as 2012, I think it’s largely overreaction and the fandom has simply ‘leveled out’ in a way, but I’m also concerned that many of us, including myself, are just wishful thinkers. So I’d like to hear from anyone here: what do you think of the fandom’s status? I’m eager to hear from you guys, so feel free to elaborate on your reasoning if you so wish.

BronyCon shutting down and the show ending within a few months is just coincidence and has got nothing to do with the alleged death of this fandom.
 
You know who claims the fandom is dying? The young ‘uns who are in their very first fandom (or at least in their very first non-video game fandom) and who don’t know anything about the pop culture of the 20th century and its fandoms. They can’t imagine that a fandom of a series can survive after the series itself has ended. They simply don’t know that many fandoms that are even bigger than the Bronydom have survived one or even multiple series ends with no new material whatsoever coming immediately after them.
 
Best example: Star Trek. By these Bronies’ logic, the Star Trek fandom would have ended in 1967 after the first season of TOS. But the early Trekkers had it un-cancelled twice over before the plug was pulled for good in 1969. Did the fandom die then? No, it didn’t.
 
Second-best example: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic itself. When the show ended in spring 2011, there was no word about a continuation. It was over, full stop. Season 2 wasn’t announced before summer. But the fandom didn’t die. It didn’t even slow down. Instead, it grew like crazy. (Not to mention that we survived the first half of 2013 with Twilicorn and Equestria Girls.)
 
What certainly is true is that the fandom is smaller than it was around 2013/14. But that’s because the hype is over. The Bronies we’ve lost were mostly those who jumped upon whichever hype they deemed the biggest, just to leave us for FNAF/Steven Universe/Undertale/Rick & Morty/what-have-you when it became the next hottest thing.
 
The idea that thousands upon thousands of long-time, dedicated fans will take their leaves just because the show is over is complete and utter non-sense.
 
Also, this fandom is too big to simply die out completely this quickly. It will survive a mass exodus of the aforementioned unexperienced youngsters under the influence of a self-fulfilling prophecy. It will survive G5 being complete garbage (because many will stick to G4). And I think it will even survive the next great shows that will come for us and lure fans away from the Bronydom.
 
I guess many don’t even know how utterly gigantic this fandom’s footprint is. It cannot simply vanish. In order for the Bronydom to completely disappear, it isn’t sufficient for a few thousand fans to quit. Millions of fans would have to leave, Web sites like Derpibooru, Equestria Daily, FiMfiction, Pony.fm, Ponyville Live! etc. would have to be shut down and deleted entirely, all dedicated Brony conventions would have to end, the Ponycons would have to become collectors’ conventions again like they were before 2011, and every last former Brony would have to delete all their works from non-pony sites like YouTube, Soundcloud, Bandcamp, deviantART, Furaffinity, Pixiv, Tumblr and FanFiction.net. And so forth.

@Pulse Wave  
Wow, very detailed and thorough response. I appreciate it.
 
Star Trek is a frequent example I’ve heard and I have to say I agree with it. Certain people seem to forget that this sort of thing has happened many times before. Heck, I personally forgot about FIM technically ending in 2011, since I wasn’t really interested in the show or fanbase at that point.
 
But I agree with pretty much every point you made. Thanks again for the response.

Fandom isn’t dying. It’s going into a perfectly natural, more calm state of existence. Might be shrinking a bit as peoples ’interests change, but a hell of a lot of animes have existing fandoms over a decade since the anime finished airing.

@hawthornss  
No one ever points to more closer related like G1 MLP fans still being around (or new fans of it!).

@LightningBolt  
I was into weeb shit way before I found pony. Those fandoms are still around! Still kicking quite happily in their respective internet places.  
There’s nothing bad about pony retiring to a quieter, more long-term space. Maybe the fucking drama thirst will finally calm down. :Y

@LightningBolt  
Yes, to both of those. The new fans still coming in is especially great! Very few people seem to be acknowledging that; many talk like the fandom suddenly appeared with a set number of fans, and the only direction it has been moving and can move is slowly downward until it peters out into nothing. I simply can’t see any actual proof of that.
 
 
@hawthornss  
Have to say I agree with that last statement as well. To be frank, I’m actually enjoying how it has been for the past couple years, having a more “natural” existence as you say. At least that’s been my view on it. It’s not this meme machine, stirring up controversy or giving the internet excuses to make fun of it constantly or hop on the bandwagon to get some of that ‘I’m special for liking a show for little girls’ feel. It makes me think of Overwatch or FNAF. The wagon riders always need some new hot property to latch on to and when a new one crops up, they jump to it, so then you can better know who the real fans are. Luckily pony has a pretty large and dedicated base of these folks, this site being one of the best places to talk to them, and it feels good to be a part of it.
 
Damn, I kinda wanna play Overwatch again…

I think the problem is that the fandom has become too Self Sustaining, meaning that the actual show no longer has any room for the fandom it created. I mean, how many people even really bothered getting invested in Season 9? It just kinda happened with a murrmurr, even with the fact that it was the last season. And it just seems that the fandom doesn’t even really care for the show it’s based on anymore. I mean, Season 9 was just kinda bad. none of the episodes we’re anything special, and even parts that were supposed to be interesting kinda just fell short for me. I remember when the leak for the last 3 episodes happened, and the people who got upset about it. Yet, when the actual airing took place, it just didn’t seemed that anyone cared anymore. ether you loved it or tolerated it. there was no passion anymore.

@Ghost Reviews  
Wow. It’s ok if you feel that way, but please don’t project that onto everyone else. I enjoyed the snot out of Season 9.

remember when MLP FIM was said to outlive every other kids cartoon of 2010’s by some fans? here we are Steven Universe & Adventure Time[has 4 HBO MAX on the way] we ended the decade with Adventure Time outliving FIM instead of other way around shocking twist end there

@Astrum  

 
you get it. my good dude.

@Ghost Reviews  

 
even if it seemed like that, that’s actually not true, coz there were more then 1800 connected users at BN_King’s stream when the actual airing of the last 3 eps was happening.
 
and even when the very last ep has ended, the stream’s chat continued to rush like nuts thanking the show creators, BN_King, and the fandom itself quite some time.
 
and this is only 1 streaming website, so there still were people who cared about the actual airing despite the leaks.  
I know, I was there, and I guess most of these people are still around.
 

What may have contributed to allegedly low viewer numbers on streams may be that many went to viewing parties instead. The end of the show was a big enough event that waiting a couple of days for the viewing party was a viable option, also because there must have been a lot of these.

Thought I would put my two cents in and say im actually very new to the fandom haveimg found it at laterally the end of 2019 and from what I have seen its still a,very active fandom and i see many still talking and actively working on different aspects of it so what if the show is over it still lives on in everyone who loves the show and talks about it like this great place. sorry if I messed up somehow but just wanted to add my own thought.