I used to be in reddit like.... All the fucking time. So much in there in so many niche subs you could scroll for hours and not see the same thing twice. Since lemmy is so much smaller and not as built up so much yet I'm not doom scrolling anymore.
It's not the size, it's the content and format. When your goal is profit, you set up the system so that it fuels negative emotions to keep people hooked and addicted. Any time you weren't engaged is money lost. I can guarantee, if you go back and look now you'll see so much negativity on there that you accepted as normal before. The Fediverse is non profit and built for communication alone. No competition points, just people.