Does it feel like the fediverse is exclusively used by older tech nerds?
The mastodon and lemmy content I’m seeing feels like 90% of it comes from people who are:
~30 years old or older
tech enthusiasts/workers
linux users
There’s nothing wrong with that particular demographic or anything, but it doesn’t feel like a win to me if the entire fediverse is just one big monoculture.
I wonder what it is that is keeping more diverse users away? Is picking a server/federation too complicated? Or is it that they don’t see any content that they like?
I'm older than you guys, late 30s, my first pc was an old DOS machine with a black and amber monitor. I found the switch to Linux really easy, and I'm pretty sure the fact I started with a CLI(Command Line Interface) helped.
Like you said, read the docs.
I would add that you should start by trying to do as much as you can from CLI. There's some things, on some/most distros, that just can't be done through the GUI.
The faster you get comfortable with the CLI the easier your transition will be.
That said, the distros coming out now are a load more noob friendly than when I started fiddling with Linux, and the number of things you 100% need to do through CLI has shrunk significantly.
You should dual boot, or get a live USB of a Linux distro now, and acclimatise to the way things are done in Linux.
There's a lot of things that still need to be done through the CLI. Luckily documentation for Linux is one of it's strong points.
Spin up some distros in a VM and give a go it's fun to relearn how to use a computer again and having more control over what and how you want things done is amazing. I started playing with Linux and VMs in my teens and loved it and wanted to pursue a career in tech. Plus breaking things and fixing them is something I enjoy.
My suggestion is to find some older laptop that nobody wants anymore and put linux on that. Dual booting is more PITA than its worth to just try it out, and you’ll probably run into issues with the clock which will make you frustrated. Also, having another working machine that you can look stuff up in real time while you work through issues is gonna be key. Def approach linux on the desktop as a challenge / puzzle and you will be accidentally and painlessly learning everything you need to one day be a sysadmin lol