28 May 2024

The problem with social media

Bookmarked Protocols, platforms and priorities · Paul Robert Lloyd.

"Regardless of Mastodon’s technical underpinnings, while the same interactions are incentivised, familiar social dynamics will play out."

I mentioned in a post the other day that I've decided to stop using Mastodon. Paul captures much of my problem with it, and social in general. It's not that everything is bad.

Most of the stuff in my timeline on Mastodon is pretty cool. But, as Paul says:

... it largely replicates the interface paradigms of Twitter, software fine-tuned for polarisation and outrage.

And exposing myself to that polarisation and outrage on a regular basis just isn't worth it.