In 2024, using social media felt worse than ever
Between all the ads and the content competing for our attention, social media doesn't feel very social anymore.
That's why I stay on Lemmy.
I don't feel that people really talk with each other here on Lemmy, what's your opinion? It seems that we just share preconceived opinions and that's it.
These days, it feels like every gathering place on the internet is so crowded with content that’s competing for — and successfully grabbing — our attention or trying to sell us something that there’s barely any room for the “social” element of social media. Instead, we’re pushed into separate corners to stare at the glowing boxes in our hands alone
True
We need real life social places again. We need decent parks, cafes, and third places that are accessible to everyone and ideally seperated from the cars we bring everywhere.
You are very unlikely to make friends with the car next to you in traffic compared to the person next to you on a bus seat. You won't meet the regulars of your cafe by using the drive-through. You won't get a work out partner by isolating yourself with music and phone screens while at the gym.
I agree completely. That's the purpose of urbanism that we have privatized: now the social interactions happen in the shopping mall or in the online shopping mall ( social media). These places are made to stimulate over consumption and to dry out any cultural movement or community identification; it's an sterilization of thought. In this way the same model can be replicated worldwide to maximize profits
The author of this article talks about wanting to find better places, but doesn't even mention options like Lemmy or Mastodon...
mastadon is mentioned alongside Blue sky
Oh, you're right! I missed it because I thought that paragraph was just talking about Threads more, and skimmed past. Still, a sentence and a half about how they're too clique-y isn't much of a look
Maybe because it's being increasingly monetized by soulless corporations?
TL;DR - my 2024 social media experience was rather pleasurable.
I left twitter and insta by 2017 (more ads and wannabe influencers than actual content). Left fb in 2020 after they marked a clear satire article (that self identified as one) as "misinformation" (really, just the last straw in a long list of obvious manipulation). Left reddit during the exodos. Created a new lemmy username (couldn't remember my old password). Haven't looked back.
It's an interesting way of arguing that corporate social media is shit, which we all knew and there's even a term for. Thus the alternatives.
In other words, this sounds a lot like a user error. Of course tech failing too, or succeeding depending on your goal. But still, a solved problem waiting for action.
Iv'e ejected infinite scroll, short form time vampires from my life in 2024, and it feels good. Now I have more time for reading and playing videogames, and I reccomend everyone to do the same.