I actually stayed after the API (I used Relay and paid), but Reddit just seems… Mean, I guess. People say awful things to each other on there, and the shift in the community has been distressing. It also feels like the dead internet theory in practice. Repost after repost, bots commenting, commenting to themselves/each other. Ads, and not regular ads but “omg, I just happened to go to McDonald’s and got this ccrrraaazzzyyy drink.” And, God, so many communities about just women? Big tits, small, tits, red head, goth, this celebrity, that instamodel. It’s like a menagerie of porn over there. And not even anything good.

I also realized I was blocking way more than I was looking at. I didn’t feel good after being on reddit. I either had my feelings hurt, was outraged, or disappointed because I was comparing myself to everyone. I don’t think that it’s reddit fault for all of that, but I like this better. I know this may sound backhanded, but there’s less here. I remember feeling kind of bored when I first switched. Like, where’s my endless stream of garbage??? But I find myself looking at my phone less, and I feel like the information I do see makes me want to engage more. I’ve posted more on this account than I have in my entire time on reddit, and I was on that site for almost 7 years. It’s not that everyone agrees with me, but I’m not afraid I’m going to get my head chewed off if I get something wrong. It feels like moving from table to table at a bar I guess. I’ve never been to a bar, instead of trying to hear a voice through a mosh pit.