this post was submitted on 08 Jul 2023
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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?

Thoughts?

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (4 children)

I fit the description. I like it, the regular social media life drains me.

Eli5...How can I get into mastadon? I just signed up for Lemmy. Can I download any mastadon app and just log in and use it?

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

It does, yes.

And since lots of people in the Fediverse support blocking popular competitors, like people in Mastodon talking about blocking/unfederating Threads, I'd say we're making sure the Fediverse stays in obscurity forever. Never having a chance to become popular, never having a chance to convince people to leave proprietary platforms.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

27yo tech enthusiast and worker and linux user here

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

I was ready to argue that we're not all older, but apparently I'm in that category. I'm not very tech literate or use Linux, though.

I think someone else got it right. Younger people didn't live through dial-up and the old internet. They grew up with polished apps and fast loading websites. They're used to convenience.

It can be intimidating to join the fediverse. I was intimidated and still a bit confused. It's not something I'm familiar with in the slightest. I'm not scared of challenging myself to learn something new in tech, though, because of the generation I was born into. We grew up experimenting with the crunchy internet and awkward technology.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

have been around on mastodon for years (was one of the first few thousands accounts). it really depends where you look. i'm under 30 and the majority of people i see + interact with are under 30 too.

the "professionals" side of mastodon absolutely does skew more to that age range, but the more shitposty social groups skew way younger, and with a lot of them existing on other instances.

lemmy also has a mix and again depends where you look.

tl;dr i'm not sure i'd totally agree with that 90% statistic

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Hmm, not sure. But I’m in my 20s and I love to advocate for privacy and decentralization.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

There just needs to be automatic instance assignment for new users with registration time opt-out for those who want to choose. Pick whichever one is the most populated. If that's down at that particular moment in time, pick the next most populated and so on. Take the instance picking out of the equation for people who don't care about that. People who do care can still pick their own.

That being said, it's difficult to grow a new website in general unless it's already got established backing from other source (i.e. a large corporation, celebrity, etc.), It's not like old days in the 90s when there were far fewer websites in general.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Buy hearing aids

Edit: Sorry, thought this was the Bing.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Trash culture, TikTok and the likes. The gen z folx I know don't seem to prioritize privacy and quality content. Some know it and don't seem to care even after getting hacked/scammed.

Living vicariously through influencers, likes, and whatnot. Being cool, blending in...

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago
[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Im below 30 guess im young then 😅

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

I fit those ... You must be right.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

I tick all those boxes 😂

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

I have a statistical pool of 1, but I am 40 something, an infra specialist at a video game publisher and use Linux. So, I suppose you just described me

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Older? It seems the general lemmy population is in their early 20s.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Signing up and commenting on Lem should be made stupid simple so that masses can flock here instead. ANY friction in between will result in no action taken. Also more Google searche algos with Lemmy will greatly help.

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