I originally had signed up for a few social media platforms in their early days but over time I felt that I wasn’t seeing what I thought I wanted to see. As companies started tailoring their algorithms things started to get less relevant to my interests. As a result I left behind those platforms for a couple of years before discovering Mastodon instances.
It was basically everything I thought social media should be, I would again get updates from people I followed and in a chronological order without a mess of advertisements. There was no push to show me content I hadn’t even asked to see, so that was really refreshing. I only recently realized that federated content platforms and their protocols were so versatile, given what we’re on now feels very different from Mastodon. I can’t help it but I am more than a bit excited about the potential!
What’s your story? Do you use anything that could be considered social media or have you in the past?
Reddit was the GOAT, it is hugely helpful for almost every issue you could face and if you pick your subreddits right it’s significantly less toxic than other social media. Unfortunately they’ve been sabotaging themselves lately.
Instagram only to see how close real life friends are doing (I’m a teenager)
I don’t like the short videos (YouTube shorts, TikTok etc) but both YouTube and Bilibili are great platforms with lots of great content.
I technically still have social media accounts, but I don’t use them (other than to access info I can’t without them, like my neighborhood’s announcements). I used to be more active on social media - even had a Friendster account, to give you history here! - but the algorithm interference has taken all joy out of it. Plus, conversations with strangers are less often in good faith, so I’m more reluctant to engage because if I get a response it’s 50/50 whether it will be worthwhile and civilized. Too many trolls, too many people trying to platform themselves, too much algorithm interference. I used to learn so much and have such fun online, but I’m pretty skittish/jaded/burnt out.
I have bad social anxiety and the internet used to be my go-to for making friends, but that experience has been ruined for me. I totally understand what you mean about feeling skittish and burnt out, you just never know if someone is going to be hostile. There were always trolls, but it’s on another level now. It’s just pure hate.
