I didnt really use social media much before trying out fediverse alternatives.

Mainly just reddit, with occasional Instagram. When considering the switch, Instagram was easy to consider letting go of, Reddit not so much.

But then around the same time I got into photography, and wanted insta as a way to present my portfolio. So then I put off fediverse again, because life was also really chaotic.

After a while, life got less chaotic, and I looked into everything again.

I didn’t end up using insta for photos, and to my friends’ dismay, I hadn’t gotten any better at using it to see their lives either. I don’t find the app addictive, although I can see why it is. I found it annoying. I think the chaos of my life(grad school) meant I never really got sucked into the whole short form content like everyone else.

Reddit was still tough to consider letting go of. But ultimately I found Lemmy and Pixelfed and thought “wth why not”

Fucking hell I love the fediverse. It may be smaller, but it’s growing. But even if it stopped growing, all the platforms feel “lived in” to use words that could describe an open world rpg.

And it’s fun, and it feels safe in a way. There’s a relief knowing that I don’t have some company I have to worry about that curates the world it wants me to see, rather than the world I want to see. I’m finding myself doom scrolling a bit less and focusing more on my hobbyist circles. But uncensored world news is available when I feel like keeping myself up to date with the happenings of the world rn.

It’s amazing, a breath of fresh air and gives me hope in a world where hope is feeling less and less common.

I also have a lot of sway with friends and family, they trust my opinions on things. And so I’m excited to get some converts too. I like sharing my life with friends and family and seeing there’s. I look forward to doing so on free platforms.

I plan on donating money to fediverse contributors as well, because they are doing amazing work.

Okay, done rambling now. I just feel lighter a little, like I can enjoy being on the internet again, even if it’s just one small corner of that internet.