I'm becoming increasingly disillusioned with social media. Mastodon too. I feel as if we've moved from long form content to essentially posting single words almost. Articles -> blogs -> microblogs -> tweets. I skipped Instagram and tiktok outright but I'd put those next on that "developmental" path.
With regards to social media I feel as if we are living through the proverbial lead in gasoline phase of this particular story.
Oh, for sure. To me, Mastodon scratches a certain shitposting itch that I can't quite get anywhere else, and it's frankly mostly for my benefit more than it is for others. My "feed" is mostly comprised of some bots that post useful/interesting/funny stuff, as well as a good smattering of tangentially interesting human accounts. It's almost completely garbage, but it's garbage that I have control over. I remember enjoying Twitter for a few months before it went sterile and corporate, but Mastodon sort of picks up where it left off. It's not a never-ending cesspit of "suggested" content, advertisements and politically charged conversation. It's just goofy and occasionally informative, and something I can put down after 5 minutes of use like it's a holistic digital snack.
With regards to social media I feel as if we are living through the proverbial lead in gasoline phase of this particular story.
Still derive some value from forums though.