This is a sequel to this rant. I came to the realization that Lemmy and the broader fediverse aren’t really fun for me. The constant ragebait and politics shoehorned into everything was dragging me down, and the only communities without ragebait are also without content in general.
So I caved and made a Reddit account after 3 years and it’s gotten so, so much worse. First is probably the “gamification” of everything. Reddit already had karma, which had its own problems, but it was simple. Monkey brain like number go up. Now they show you analytics on your posts and comments, and encourage you to improve them, as though you’re meeting a metric rather than trying to connect with other people. It’s gross and cynical.
Then there’s the notifications. I get a notification every time a post is upvoted, not just for replies. It feels engineered to squeeze every drop of dopamine out of you and keep you feeding the content machine.
This one’s more subtle. The simple Reddit gold awards that existed when I first joined in 2012 had already ballooned into a myriad of different little trophies when I left in 2023, but they’ve redesigned them and now they look like assets from a free to play mobile game, with the way the awards shine when you mouse over them to that particular bright plasticky round art style. It’s not damning on its own, but combined with the above points it’s another nail in the coffin.
Sponsored posts I think were already a thing when I left, but now there are ads in the comments as well. There used to be one ad on a specific dedicated spot off to the side. It was unobtrusive without being hard to find. I felt that was fair. But it’s not about keeping the lights on anymore, now the whole things screams “You’re the product!”
But worst of all are the bots, AI masquerading as real users that make superficially genuine posts and comments. Discriminating between AI and human content is probably a skill that I could hone with time, but I shouldn’t have to go on a witch hunt every time someone compliments me. I’ve even been tricked into wasting my empathy on them, all so they can farm me for content.
So yeah, maybe I should just throw away my router and go outside.
Yeah…
Alternatively, people seem to think that politics are some nebulous separate thing to their life, sort of like a hobby, when the reality is everything is political. Like, you cannot escape politics as a general rule (and arguably, nor should you try to), because it infects every aspect of a person’s life.
I’m educated enough on politics though. I want my free time to be spent learning about random animals, Legos, rocks, Ancient Rome, not the latest dumb shit trump did. That’s wild take to think you can’t play video games, read a book, run with your dog without having to think about politics 24/7. If you truly believe that, see a therapist, that’s seriously not healthy.
Having hobbies is all well and good, I have them as well, but to not think politics has an impact on quite literally everything in your life requiring therapy is…a take.
Stating that politics have an impact on everything is just a statement of fact.
In just the examples you gave, some sort of political situation has impacted them - the price of Legos, modern interpretations of ancient history (through the lens of modern political discourse and what lead to the fall of Rome as an easy example), media regulation/censorship, the list goes on. It is possible to recognize that these things are impacted and not “think about them all the time.”
Ultimately, places like Lemmy are largely news aggregators, so you are going to get a lot of stuff related to the news (i.e. politics). It’s a bit tough to discuss the “latest in dog walking” for any period if time to largely anonymous people online when compared to “US geopolitics” or “global conflicts,” because those things are ever evolving.
Nobody said politics doesn’t have an impact on everything. But it’s possible to have a community dedicated to Legos or dog walking that doesn’t constantly talk about how the Trump administration or the economy effects it
This is what I’m talking about. I want to come on here and relax, but it’s hard to do that when I’m constantly being reminded of the depressing hellscape that is real life right now.
“Be the change you want to see in the world” is the only real solution to that problem. News aggregation is an easy thong because its relatively universal - niche hobbies are not by definition, so its kind of up to people to make them happen.