The expansive geek community has grown exponentially within the past decade, opening up new worlds for people who were first introduced to it and expanding the horizons of those who had always been a piece of it. So why is one of the most common beliefs about it that it's dead or dying?

The long and short of it is that the traditional geek community- individuals who grew up in the classic age of a lot of our favorite media diversions-- had to work for the title 'geek.' Well, they had to find ways to enjoy their signature niches without the help of the internet that is. Patton Oswalt is a proponent of the viewpoint that everything being immediately available to anyone with an internet connection doesn't allow the geeky individual to bring their own, "idiosyncratic love of that thing to your thought-palace." The now allegedly elusive attitude of bringing your own what-ifs and unanswered questions to the medium is what is absent from the geek community of today. The danger similar critics of current geek culture are so afraid of is simple.

If everyone is a satisfied consumer, no one will become a dedicated creator.

This argument is inherently flawed. Aside from the fact that having to go through greater lengths to access media that one enjoys does not necessarily make them a content creator themselves, the current community is more open to creators now than ever before. The indie game market has exploded with growth, fanfiction and niche creative writing have a broader audience, and geek culture conventions have popped up everywhere allowing fans of all ages to unite in appreciation of anything under the sun. However, the bigger availability and market is part of the problem for a large portion of the population.

Most people that are video game fans have noticed with trepidation that the massive growth of the indie market has opened the door for AAA companies to try to recreate the passionate story lines we love with a formula, resulting in a portion of the industry only dedicated to growing their wallets and dozens of knock offs or repetitive cliches. The same can be said for writing communities experiencing science fiction overproduction.

I think the over saturation of geek media can be beneficial for the community as a whole, albeit tedious for us. It's easier now than ever before to pick out quality experiences over mediocre or unoriginal ones. Creators don't have the option to just adhere to cliche if their content is going to be successful. We aren't a group of satisfied consumers. We're a group of hungry consumers.

Finally, the belief that geekiness is based on sheer effort or time spent self identifying as one should not stand in today's community. Being a fan is not a skill. Being a fan for longer than someone else is not a skill. There are skills within fandom that should actually be celebrated-- the art, cosplay, and writing that comes out of immense love for a series or a character. These skills still don't necessarily make one person a better fan than another. All it takes to be a geek for something is to love it wholeheartedly. As geeks we should support each other.

Geek culture is not dead because the internet makes it easier to find media. Geek culture is not dead because more people have found a home within it. Geek culture is alive and we who are supportive of it will not let anyone sink the ship because they are not captain.