Fediverse

The problem is that Facebook isn't just about keeping up with your friends and family. It's an engagement platform designed to keep your attention by showing you memes and "news" and videos and ads that it knows you like. Most people have become addicted to this slow and steady stream of dopamine. You're not going to get people off their crack addiction by substituting it with marijuana.

As these social platforms become more powerful, it's up to each of us to personally find the strength to wean ourselves away from these platforms that once promised socialization but have quickly become little more than propaganda and influencing and ad-serving machines.

It's great we're seeing some alternatives but, aside from a small cohort, most people are not going to find the likes of Bluesky, Mastodon, or Lemmy engaging enough to give them that hit that they're used to.

All hail the algorithm.

Personally, I used to be the early adopter who was on all these platforms well before most of the public heard about them. In recent years, I've either deleted or stopped using my social accounts (or have chosen to use less engaging ones, like Lemmy). This has given me more time to live a life.

Boredom is something I embrace. Rather than turning to a screen to occupy me; I'll take a nap, make some tea, journal, go for a walk, do some cleaning, build something, practice something, read a book or comic. It's not as dynamic, for sure, but I get to experience and learn more about myself instead of needlessly observing the lives of others. Boredom offers a renewed sense of self and humanity. Frankly, I'm afraid younger generations won't know what benefits and beauty boredom has to offer.