Many obvious cases of people responding from emotion from headlines and not actually reading articles. More infighting in comments. Less debate and dialog, just arguing.

So well put. People responding to headlines alone really is the bane of social media. Personally, I've begun to systematically add a quote from the source article, even when it doesn't add much to my comment. As a way of subtly showing others that I actually read the article and that perhaps they should too.

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago (5 children)

I appreciate the nice words.

I like to do the same thing, grabbing snippets of q that article, not whatever broad frustrations we have on the topic while ignoring the new info we're being given. That makes all the posts feel the same and full of mostly generalities or just straight complaining.

There are some prior sharing really interesting and important things, and I don't get the appeal of using social media to wallow in misery when it can be used to educate and congregate. Things like 50501is using it to try to build political momentum. I want to get people interested in less familiar animals and hopefully encourage them to volunteer, donate, or at least see them as more than memes or NPCs and rather unique individuals that have important roles in our world and have full lives and semblances of individual personalities.

It just feels we're squandering an opportunity if we just let this place turn into just another social media site.

[–] JubilantJaguar@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (4 children)

I second your manifesto. It's always been a mystery to me that so many people seem to enjoy wallowing in misery and anger and negativity and helplessness. It really seems to be the essence of much of social media. I'm guessing it's something to do with catharsis, and release of frustration. But there must also be a certain personality type that is attracted to social media - and apparently we're the odd ones out. Just downvoting is a mystery to me TBH (I see it as pure toxicity and obviously antithetical to civilized discussion) and I know from bitter experience that quite few people here agree with me on this. But there are a few who do and I take heart from that.

It just feels we’re squandering an opportunity if we just let this place turn into just another social media site

It can't ever be that bad as long as there is no advertising. That's my positive spin.

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I get the need to vent. There is a lot to be bad about these days. But it just feels like it takes over everything.

I only downvote on stuff where people are outright mean or lying. If it's something where I think people should just ignore it, I move on, but if someone is hateful or talking stuff that is knowingly false or dangerous and I feel others should know to ignore whatever they're saying, that's worth downvoting.

It is nice having a place that isn't commercial in any way. That is one thing we still got.

There are still a lot of positives here, don't get me wrong, but the early adopter phase feels over and some of the shine has worn off.

[–] jet@hackertalks.com 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

the early adopter phase feels over and some of the shine has worn off.

Yeah, we are not in growth phase, but maintenance. Finding fulfillment from the actual relationships and engagement we have is important.

The dopamine hits of growth phase Lemmy are very much feast or famine, but can't be the only reason we are here.

[–] DonaldJMusk@lemmy.today 1 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Yeah, we are not in growth phase, but maintenance.

And I just feel like Lemmy is actually bleeding off users. People have become too extreme. It's keeping people from joining, and making others like AdmiralPatrick @ptz@dubvee.org leave.

I don't have any stats, but it def seems that way to me. Every real life friend I tried to turn on to Lemmy, tried it and very quickly nope-d right out. All of them think it's more toxic that Reddit. I agree with them too.

[–] jet@hackertalks.com 2 points 9 hours ago

Yeah, that is why I stopped posting to every community - it mostly didn't start any conversations.

I'm just posting basically personal journals now that I can reference later to find something, or to send to friends on a subject i care about.

I do really highly value the good conversations and I have here, but they are fairly rare. Maybe 500 bad encounters for 1 great encounter.

Lemmy extremism (in any direction) is quite a challenge, the negativity users meet is a great way to drive people away. We need small niche safe spaces for common interest groups to grow and talk, mini-forums. The current everyone drives-by all and basically puts every post up to a popular referendum hasn't worked.

I said a unpopular thing on a YPTB post awhile back, but I'm sticking with it - People are communal, and they define their communities by a shared interest (belief, experience, geography, etc), but that is just a nice way of saying that communities need a way to EXCLUDE people without that shared interest (two sides of the same coin). Basically we need highly curated opinionated chambers to grow thriving communities where people like to come back as their home base.

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